Purifying Sunlight
by Ser Tarlon
Summary: Lucian is on the hunt for undead to purify by the light of his ancient weapons. In his chase, a trace leads him to Mount Targon and Leona. He won't allow her to interfere, but she is allowed to follow him in these dangerous landscapes. Together they will discover ancient secrets that might change the way of the Rakkor forever.
1. Chapter 1

Hello readers. My second story, this time more story-driven. There will be violence and some mature scenes. I'll try to leangthen the next chapters, but i wanted to get the first chapter out asap. Now, enjoy some fiction with the Purifier and the Radiant Dawn.

Greetz, Ser Tarlon

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Chapter One

The hunt on Mount Targon

It was an enjoyable day in Mount Targon, at least for those living there. The sun was blazing down less than usual, the temperatures at just about 35° Celsius. The Rakkor were slowing down their usual tasks and talked more. The life seemed almost peaceful today.

The Solari did not relax, they never did. Their devotion to their sungod did not allow them to do so. There were rituals to be held, heretics to be purged and if nothing else, their own bodies had to be trained. Leona, the Radiant Dawn and shining model of the order, did train. Her body, clad in golden Armor, was sweating from her intense training. After she merged with the Aspect, she lost the ability to sense heat, as she burned inside with power. Some people said that the sun itself burned in her heart, causing her body to emit heat like a stove.

Hours have passed since she started her regimen and hours would have passed before she ended it, if a scout wouldn't have interrupted her. "Solari Leona, there is a stranger coming towards the village of the Rakkor!", he informed her. She stopped right in the swift strike of her sword, not moving for a few heartbeats. "Why would you inform me?", she asked him while standing up straight and turning towards him. "One of the seers sends me. He said you will know the stranger.", the scout informed her before he bowed and turned away. "You are expected at the gate." He left, leaving Leona slightly confused. The seers rarely ordered the Solari, let alone ordering herself, the Radiant Dawn. This intrigued her and she followed the order. She arrived at the gate a few minutes later, where the seer awaited her. "One of your fellow champions is coming.", he said, leaving the salutation, now obviously insulting her. Seer Trastor still resented her, siding with Atreus, on thinking she was a heretic. Leona was polite enough to overlook his behavior, but she couldn't take him seriously anymore. He seemed to have lost his reasoning and was going down a path of self-destruction. She pitied him.

"Who will arrive?", she asked and let her gaze roam over the emptiness in front of the gaze, finding the small and lone figure in the distance. "I was not able to see. I know only of his ties to the Institute of war." Leona gave him a surprised look, but answered nothing. The seers abilities to foresee the future decreased, too. Grabbing her sword and shield tighter, she stepped outside the walls of the village and headed towards the stranger. It took her a few minutes to reach him, but she recognized him a long time before she stopped right in front of him. "Lucian the Purifier." She drove her sword into the ground and leaned her shield against it to fold her arms in front of her chest. Lucian bowed slightly, greeting her with his usual reserved behavior. "Leona.", he answered, letting his hands fall on the two relic-guns that hung on his hips. "What leads you to these harsh lands, Purifier?", she asked, not moving anywhere. She knew that she did not have to fear him, but an encounter with his guns was some no one forgot, as they were very painful to the living, but not lethal. "I am chasing an undead from the Shadow Isles.", he said, shortspoken as always. "Please let me pass and proceed, Leona. I wish you no harm, but I won't let anyone step between me and my prey." The cold determination in his eyes gave all those shivers that met them straight, but Leona was a warrior of the Solari, she feared no human being.

"The mountain is my land, Purifier, don't forget that. The Rakkor rule the mountainside. Even a strong warrior as you would not withstand them." She shook her head while grabbing her sword and shield again. "You need their permission to hunt on Mount Targon. I will escort you to the elder." Her fiery eyes burned into the cold ones of Lucian, causing him to nod. "As you say. Lead me to them." He didn't sound different from before, merely accepting the habits of Mount Targon. He followed her over the plains in front of the village, through the gate and to the back half of it. The small cabins grow slightly higher and longer, leading to a long-house with stone-arches holding up the roof like ribs. The guards bowed when they recognized Leona but hesitated to let Lucian pass. "He is a stranger!", claimed one guard and grabbed the hilt of his sword. "No stranger is allowed into the Hall of Elders!" The other guard grabbed his sword too, but he was more cautious than his comrade. If Leona led a stranger to the Hall of Elders, she had intentions he wouldn't contradict. "Move aside, guard!", Leona commanded with such force in her voice, that the guard immediately stepped back, fear in his eyes. The aspect of sun walked past him like he just disappeared, the man in his swallow-tailed coat following her.

The darkness inside the hall blinded Lucian for a few moments, leaving him somewhat helpless, while Leonas clinking steps moving away from him. Slowly his eyes adjusted to the darkness. A long hall appeared out of the darkness, pits of glowing coal illuminating it slightly. A group of five elderly man and woman sat in the background, staring into the flames. A long curtain separated the last part. The stone-arches were visible inside, interrupting the clay of the outer walls. Lucian captured every detail, every crack in the clay, every bump in the stone, and the place of every pit. His never-ending fight against the undead taught him to pay attention to his surroundings. After he imprinted everything into his mind he strode forwards, following Leona on her way to the group of elders. She bowed respectfully before rising to speak. "I greet you, elders of the Rakkor. This man is Lucian, the Purifier." She raised her hand to point towards him. "He is a hunter and sworn enemy of the undead. One of his targets hides on the mountainside. He seeks your permission to hunt. And I am his warrantor." The elders didn't look away from the fire, but one woman spoke. "Leona, aspect of the sun, Radiant Dawn, leader of the Solari. Your request will be permitted." Her head turned towards Lucian, her blind eyes locking his. "Lucian, the Purifier, dread of the undead. You may hunt your chosen pray." Her eyes went back into the fire, the conversation obviously ended. Lucian turned without a word and left the building without looking back.

Leona thanked the elders and followed Lucian. "Lucian, wait!", she called after leaving the building. He was already heading towards the mountainside but turned to her. "Are there any unsettled matters?", he asked calmly. "Yes, there is one. As your warrantor I will have to accompany you in your quest.", she explained, earning a rising eyebrow of him. "I hunt alone.", he declined and walked towards the mountain again. "My hunt is my matter, and mine only. I know that you will not be in my way, but the times of my hunts with a partner are bygone." The hint of sorrow tinted his voice. "You know it." Leonas eyes saddened, but he was right. "I will not take part in your hunt. But I will be close to you, as it is my duty." She understood him, and he did understand her. His determination to kill the undead was met with her determination to follow the rules of the mountain. "This offer I can accept. Stay out of my reach, and I will not try to lose you." She nodded, waving her sword towards the mountain. "Go hunt, Lucian."

Two weeks had passed and the hunt was coming to a close. Lucian followed his undead foe like a wolf followed its wounded prey. He had encountered the undead a few times, but it always slipped away. Their last encounter left it wounded though, and Lucian wouldn't let it escape again. Leona had followed him all the time, carefully avoiding to interfere. She had no doubt that Lucian would slaughter his target in the beginning, but her faith in his skills or her respect for the monster had changed. He got a blow of the magic of the beast, too, and it slowed him down. His usually swift and accurate shots missed more often. She started to worry. If anything would go against Lucian, she would interfere. She was his warrantor and would not let him die under her protection. The gunshots of Lucians ancient weapons ripped her out of her thoughts and she climbed to a higher vantage point. She climbed on the edge of a valley, lights blazing below her. Lucian or the undead monster had chosen this valley as their last arena. Their silhouettes were as small as puppets down there, the undead slightly larger than Lucian. Close up, the beast towered above Lucian, two or more heads taller, but Lucian had the range advantage. His Piercing Light keeping it from landing any more blows to him. They went on for minutes, the beast jumping from cover to cover, Lucian firing at any motion he could see. Numerous trees had been cut down by the bright light, their stumps smoldering in the cold mountain air. From her point of view Leona could see the fight slowly changing in favor of the beast. It gained the height advantage while Lucian seemed to have lost all composure. He fired his Culling, not even aiming properly anymore. The boulder the beast used as cover started to melt, but it didn't plan to stay behind it anymore. It climbed up, reaching the top of it. Faster than Lucian was able to react it jumped high into the air and crashed down onto him. The force of the impact created a crater, its body covering Lucians, but the glow of his guns was still evident below it's broad body.

Leona cried out, angry at herself for being so distracted by the fight. In the blink of an eye her sword stabbed towards the mountain, calling down the power of the sun. The Solar Flare smashed on top of the beast, smoldering the skin from the undead muscles. It screamed in pain and flung itself away from the sunlight. Just as fast as it reacted to the burning light it recovered, swinging its head to either side, searching the source of its pain. Leona jumped down the slope of the valley, her armor shining with the power of the aspect within her. She readied herself to charge in with the Zenith Blade, but the beast fled as soon as it recognized her.

Leona ran towards Lucian and dropped to her knees. He was unconscious, but alive. She examined him carefully, recognizing broken bones everywhere in his body. If she didn't bring him to the closest temple of the Solari he would die. She took up his bright glowing weapons and secured them in the holster at his hips. It seemed odd to her that they still glowed with Lucian unconscious. They always went dark if they left his hands, but she assumed it was a reaction to the nearby undead. After they were secured, she lifted his body with ease and headed towards the closest temple. It would take her a few hours to reach.

Lucian tried to turn around. His back hurt, like he had laid for too long. His consciousness slowly returned to him, which caused him to gasp. With his mind, the pain came, too. Every muscle in his body felt like it was ripped apart and his breath filled his lungs with fire. He moaned in pain and stopped his motion. "You shouldn't move.", said an unfamiliar voice behind him. Her steps circled around him, but he couldn't move his head towards her. He opened his eyes to see her as she moved into his field of view. The woman wore a traditional solarian outfit, her kind eyes swept over his body. "You are not healed yet. Your body still fights the poison of your undead enemy, as well as healing the broken bones and smashed muscles." She examined the bandages and casts around his body. Still dizzy from the pain, he tried to figure our where he was. His restricted movability prevented him from seeing more than the ceiling, so he had to turn his eyes towards the female Solari. "Where am I?", he asked. "You are in a solarian temple, brought here by Miss Leona." The woman replaced a few of the bandages without looking at his face. "She will see to you immediately, if you wish for it." She finished her work and caught his eye. "Shall I call her?" Lucian grinned in pain, then he closed his eyes. "Yes. I'd like to talk to her." The healer nodded and left the room without another word. Her footsteps faded away in the distance, while Lucian, against his intention, faded into sleep again.

Leona entered the room, dressed in the solarian functional dark-yellow cloth they wore under their armor. A short skirt, sandals and a shirt. The heat of their homeland didn't allow any more fabric, it only protected from the heated metal of their armor. When she noticed Lucians sleep she took a stool and sat down next to him without waking him up. She remembered his broken body. She monitored his surgery, horrified by his wounds. Several ribs were broken, one almost pierced his lungs, his left arm was broken as well, every part of his skin covered in almost black bruises. The surgeon and his team had to work for almost ten hours to restore Lucians body to a stable state. They kept him asleep for a full week afterwards, strapping him to the stone slab he was laying on top of now. Every movement of his could have reopened the wounds. After this week they changed his medication, discontinuing the sleep medicaments, but continuing the painkillers. They fed him with a liquid diet all the time, keeping his nutrition at a healthy level. Nothing else was to do, so they waited, until he woke up three days later, while the nurse tended to his wounds. Now, they'd have to ask him what he wanted next, but Leona was pretty sure he would leave as soon as he could walk, no matter his overall shape.

"Leona.", he spoke after a few minutes of waiting time. She had not moved at all, but she guessed that he could feel her presence after all the battles on the Rift. "Lucian. How do you feel?" "Bad.", he answered, but she could not hear any of the pain in his voice. It was as steady and calm as always. "Why am I here?", he asked, a hint of anger in his voice. "The beast you fought defeated you. I had to interrupt the fight and save you from death, but your wounds were grievous. I brought you here to get you healed." She stood up and stepped close to the stone slab so he could see her face. "Do you have an issue with my action?" "I do, and you know it. I told you to NOT interrupt my hunt, yet you intervened. You denied me a meaningful death in fight." The sorrow was evident in his voice. "If I am not able to cleanse all undead, I shall die by their hands, for my life would not have any worth anymore. There is no room for other in my life, and there is no need for rescuers." He had to cough, his raised voice was still too much for his wounded body. "I should have died there, in honor of Senna." His voice was a mere whisper when he spoke of his late wife. Leona shook her head. "I could not have allowed you to die in that valley, Lucian. You are under my protection as long as you roam these lands. If you wish to die, throw yourself off a cliff, but every monster that defeats you will be defeated by me, before you will die. There is no exception to the rules of the Rakkor." Her burning eyes locked his. "And your wife wouldn't have wanted you to seek death by the undead. She wouldn't have fought a foe she couldn't kill alone, would she? She would have gotten help, she did not seek a meaningless death." "What do you know about her! Do not talk about Senna!", Lucian interrupted, burning anger in his eyes. "Only I know, what Senna would have wanted me to do! But she is dead, nobody can ask her anymore! It does not matter, I will not see her again. Not even in death. But in death I will perish and find peace." He spoke low and closed his eyes, overcome by grief.

"I heard the tales of Senna and you, Lucian. I know of her determination, and I know of your kind heart, burned by grief and hate. You went down a path of revenge, and I respect that. But not only you knew Senna. She was a widely respected woman, even up here at Mount Targon. She wanted to purge every undead, but she did not want to die by their hands. You should take up her determination to live, too. Not only the determination to purge." Leona stepped back again. "But it is your decision. I will leave now, if you need anything, call. Someone will be close. As soon as you feel well enough, you may leave." With those words, she left, leaving him with his physical and mental pain.

Two more weeks passed until Lucian was fit enough to stand alone. The solarian healers tended well to him, but he never spoke the whole two weeks. They respected his choice, but did tell him some news once in a while. Sometimes about skirmishes between Demacia and Noxus, about their tribe or just some stories about his fellow Champions. None of it was of any interest to him, but they didn't seem to care. Now, Lucian wanted to leave again, restored enough to walk. He sent a Solari to Leona, to inform her of his plans. Just after he finished dressing himself, she walked into the chamber. "Do you want to leave immediately?", she asked, giving his slightly bend posture a critical look. "I do.", he responded, straightening up. "Follow me, then.", the Solari told him. They walked through the stone corridors into another chamber. Spears and shields were stored in neatly organized racks, some other weapons like swords and mazes stored on a separate rack at the back, Lucians relic-weapons laid on top of the rack. He immediately walked to the rack, puzzled by their changed appearance. "What happened to them?", he asked Leona. They shouldn't have been glowing while they were separated from him, especially not in such a yellow light. He knew that their light turned orange after some shots, but not in their resting state. He grabbed them, while Leona spoke. "I don't know. They kept glowing after I hit the beast with my Solar Flare while it laid on top of you." He examined them closer, but couldn't see any damage dealt to them. "That is … puzzling.", he said, more to himself then to her. "Pray that they still work properly."

Lucian went straight away from the temple buildings until he thought the distance was safe for him to try out his guns again. Leona watched him carefully, standing right beside him. "Let's see …" He fired one of his guns, analyzing every detail of the shot. His weapon reacted regularly, but the light-projectile was different. It had grown slightly in shape and moved faster than before. Its color had turned yellow as well, but the impact was the most interesting thing. The rock he had selected as target was no glowing, too. Usually, his shots exploded holes into the objects they hit, but there was no hole evident in the stone surface. Only a spot of molten stone. "Well, it still works, good for you. But the changes … I'll see how they affect my efficiency." He took a stable stance and held the weapons in front of himself. His eyes jumped through the obstacles which could be used as targets, then he unleashed hell. The frequency of his shots rising fast, several per second. Leona had to squint her eyes, blinded by the bright lights. Lucian on the other hand had is eyes wide open, following every single shot. After the first 10 or 20, their new attributes were fading away, the yellow color disappearing and the strength and pace returning to the state Lucian was used to. "Good to know.", he mumbled, cutting of the stream of projectiles after another couple of shots. "They seem to absorb your sunlight.", he said, turning towards Lucian. "This may qualify you for this hunt, but this hunt alone." He spun his weapons arounds his fingers before pushing them into their holsters. "You may stay close to me, but you still have to refrain yourself from actively engaging the prey. He is mine."

The two warriors reached the place of Lucians defeat the next day. As he was still slowed down by his wounds, Lucian had to take several breaks during their way. After they reached the valley, his vigor got renewed. He saw the burned spot on the ground, the silhouette of his foe left unburned. His resolve to kill the monster grew again, causing him to take up its track immediately. Leona shook her head, but followed without any objection. They had enough food for two weeks and could hunt the animals living around the woods, so she felt safe letting him lead the hunt. She did force him to take a few breaks, though, since he would force himself above his limits again without her. And so the hunt went on, leading them higher up the mountain. After two weeks they found the undead monster again. It was hiding in a cave system, wounded. Unlike Lucian, whose body was almost fully restored now, it was unable to heal, giving the pair of hunters the edge to kill it.

Lucian went into the caves first, both his guns in his hands. The white light illuminated the walls of the tunnels and caverns, giving live to dancing shadows. Leona behind him used the inner glow of her equipment so see. It took them mere minutes to find the monsters hiding spot, but it had sensed them before, running deeper into the caves. Leona felt uncomfortable, as the caverns lead deeper into the mountain, and slightly down. She knew every story of Mount Targon, and caverns inside the mountain had only the grimmest of tales to tell. "Be careful, Lucian, I do not know these caverns. There might be greater dangers than the undead one." Lucian nodded and slowed down his pace. The guns glow brightened as well as the one of Leonas equipment. They followed the trail of the monster and found it a few minutes later. It stood in a larger cavern, but even though there was another tunnel leading away from its hunters, it didn't flee any further. Lucian observed the walls thoroughly, but couldn't find proof of any trap. He gave Leona a puzzled grim, but stepped out of the corridor into the open. The beast looked at him and howled quietly, before starting to charge him in a straight line. Lucian opened fire instantly, but the beast didn't dodge away. It took every shot directly and tried to reach him, but it was defeated after a few shots. Its smoldering remains dropped to the ground. "What happened?", Leona asked curiously. It seemed odd to her that the beast suicided like this. "I am not sure. But it feared something, most likely. Undead like this only act by instinct, it has no humanoid brain. Which means that there is something stronger down that tunnel." He pointed to the other entrance. "Which I will investigate."

"You shouldn't.", said Leona quietly, her voice serious with concern. "This monster was strong enough to defeat you. Anything that it feared should be feared by you as well, especially if it's in Mount Targon. You know neither this place nor its monsters, take my advice on it. Descending into Targon is suicide." She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away, but he shook her off. "I will not fight anything I don't know, I am not as hot-headed as that. But if there is something that has to be purified, I will not step away. And I have to assume there are undead down there, as undead fear the fewest of living creatures." His gaze met hers. "If you do not want to follow me, I won't say anything. But you can't keep me from seeking every undead in these caverns." The Purifier turned away from the Radiant Dawn and paced towards the dark corridor. Leona watched him as he left, but hesitated to move. Even as a Solari, she didn't want to face what lived inside the mountain, or maybe because she was one. Her remorse fought with her survival instinct, but in the end, she walked on the path of honor and couldn't let Lucian leave alone. "Wait!", she shouted, starting to follow him. He stopped, waiting for her, but didn't turn around. After she reached him, she gave him an angry glance. "From now on, you will do as I say. If I tell you to run, you will run, no matter what enemy awaits us." He met her gaze, but didn't answer for a couple of minutes. "I will see.", he answered and tried to move past her, but her sword blocked his way. "You will follow me, from now on. I repeat, YOU will follow ME, not the other way around." Her blade started to shine with the light of a dawning sun. "You will follow my commands, and you will follow them immediately. Do you understand?" He squinted his eye to see her face behind the shining sword.

"You are not someone I take orders from.", he answered again, grabbing his guns. Before he could move anymore, her shield hit him in the chest, hurling him back a few meters and stunning him. "You will either take orders from me or you will be removed from the lands of the Rakkor and not return to the lands of Mount Targon again.", she said, stepping closer to him. "Chose wisely, Purifier." The anger in her voice and the bright glow of her weapons impressed him. Without the limitations of the Institute of war, her full power was let loose now. He understood why people spoke of her like of a goddess. "Under these circumstances I will surrender myself to your will.", he said, a hint of awe in his voice. Leona stood above him for a few more heartbeats, then she sheathed her sword and gave him her hand to help him up. "I do not wish to command you more than absolutely necessary, Lucian. But I need to be sure that you will follow me. The creatures of Targons mist are something you have not faced yet, but I have. Your weapons may not even have any effect to them." She turned towards the entrance again. "Stay close to me and have your guns ready. I suppose there will be more than enough … things … living down here for you to shoot." Together, they stepped through the entrance, entering a new world.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Below The Mountain

The tunnel slowly turned into a sculptured hallway, the craftmanship evolving more and more into true art. They walked mere minutes into the dimly lit corridors, but they felt like it was hours. The rapidly changing surroundings concerned Leona, she never would have guessed that the beings below the mountain would be able to craft ornaments like those she saw on the walls now. "How can this exist?", she asked herself silently, only a whisper, but it ringed like the toll of a bell through the corridor. The tunnel was created to reinforce any sound made, even their footsteps, which Leona just now realized. Even if she had planned to sneak into the lair of whatever dwelled in the depths, she had failed miserably. Lucian on the other hand never intended to sneak around and had his glowing weapons in hands. "It can exist by magic and skill.", Lucian answered dryly, giving her a glance from the corners of his eyes. "I feel different magics ahead of us, but they do not feel like undead monsters." He watched the path they were going and saw an exit emerging, filled with light. "But whoever or whatever crafted this is most likely waiting behind that exit." He grabbed his guns firmer and angled his arm to be able to shoot in an instant. Leona followed his example and readied her weapons. Faint sounds were becoming audible, but none of the two were able to distinguish anything.

"There are creatures coming." The tunnel-keeper bowed low before the captain of the Order of Azurite. Even though the Order of Malachite was respected for monitoring the borders of the Hollow, the never made a secret about their lacking strength in fight, which meant they treated the battle-tested clansmen of the Azurite highly. "Thank you. Five clansmen will accompany you and receive the intruders." The captain nodded him to leave. Travo'Azus tone was neutral, neither contempt nor respect shown. The Order of Azurite only stood behind the Order of Diamond, whose members were powerful enchanters and sorcerers. And they knew their rank in the hierarchy in the Hollow. "Team Tratton, 5 members will follow the Malachitian to the intruders!", her ordered. Sending five members was a standard procedure, although a team consisted of 10 clansmen. Well trained as they were, the team immediately split into two groups. The clansmen stepped out of the barracks and followed the smaller tunnel-keeper towards the entrance to the Hollow. They took position semi-circled around the exit and lowered their spears.

Lucians keen eyes recognized individual bodies a few seconds before Leona could and gripped the handle of his weapons. He nodded towards Leona, who readied her own weapons in response. The adjusted their movement speed to the time it took their eyes to adapt to the brightness of the tunnel exit. Lucian opened his mouth to say something but remembered the reinforcing properties of his surroundings. Instead he gave Leona another nod, but she shook her head. Instead of taking a battle-stance she took the lead and only raised her shield. She stopped about two meters on front of the sharp spearpoints and spoke. "I am Leona, the Radiant Dawn of the Order of the Solari, and I do not mean you any harm. Her voice was firm and full of confidence, but the creatures in front of them only stepped forward until the spears touched Leonas raised shield. "You are one of our eternal enemies, human!" The deep voice came from the creature in the middle, a tall scaled monster. It had to stand at about two and a half meters and had muscles reminding Lucian of Dr Mundo. The pure white eyes showed no feeling, but the tensed muscles showed enough threat. "You and your kin should be purged from the surface." The spear-tip scratched of the surface of the shield without a trace, but moved towards Leonas face. Lucian aimed his weapons at the beasts head, but Leona shook her head again. "I know that you are children of the mist, but today you are not my enemy. Today I am a mere bystander of the hunt of the man behind me." She pointed her head towards Lucian. "If I am not allowed to enter this realm, I will wait here." In response to her words the creature let loose a low growl which vibrated in Lucians ribcage. "You do not understand, Solari!" He spat the word out like rotten food. "You are not allowed to live!" He pierced his spear forward, but Leona was faster. Her sword cut though the heavy wood shaft like it was paper, fast enough for her sword to be a mere arc of sunlight. Lucian tried to shoot it, but her sword moved again and slammed his projectile into the ceiling. He raised an eyebrow but understood. He sheathed his weapons and waited.

Leona charged the Eclipse, starting to glow. Her enemies squinted their eyes, but surprised her. The spears attacked in almost complete unison, pointing at her from four different directions. But just like she had cut through the first spear, the others were no obstacle to her blade. Another arc of light appeared in front of her and the ring of steel hitting stone was audible. As soon as the creatures noticed the lower weight of their weapons they let them fall, gripping the swords on their hips and pulled the shield from their backs. "You are fast." The leader acknowledged her. "But you can not win alone!" He closed the distance between them with one step and smashed his sword down onto her. Her shield met the blead and Leona looked into his pale eyes. If she finished him off, she may get the chance to talk again. She bounced his word to the side and buried the hilt of her sword in the region were the stomach should be. He moaned, but his shield struck down towards her arm. She adjusted her sword and deflected his strike to the side. He jumped back in a fluid motion, but was to slow. Leonas Eclipse exploded, the wave of sunlight hit him. He failed the landing and went down to his knee. Leona took the chance to pull herself to him with her Zenith Blade. Her shield hit him straight into forehead, sending him down to the ground unconscious. Seeing their captain defeated made the rest of the creatures insecure. They still circled her, but didn't attack her anymore. She raised her voice again. "I wish you no harm! Today I am ready to have a truce with the creatures of the mist. We simply want to pass your realm and hunt other enemies!" She still held her weapons ready, but did not move. "Please tell this your leaders. As a sign of my honesty I didn't kill this combatant. I just knocked him out." She took a step back for another creature to examine the downed warrior. It nodded to the other. "Alright, Solari. We will send for a Veteran.", it said, pointing towards a sixth creature standing nearby.

"What is it?", Travo'Azu asked the tunnel-keeper after it approached him again. "The intruders … one is a Solari! And she demands a truce!" He nervously kneaded his hands. "It knocked out Tragot'Azu!" Travo'Azu had already taken his weapon and hurried towards the door of the barrack. "Lead me!", he ordered and waved the rest of team Tratton to follow him. They took their weapons as well and ran after him. "What happened?", he asked on the way. "She exploded in light and when I was able to see again … Tragot'Azu was laying on the ground … She is incredibly fast!" The Malachitian was obviously intimitaded by the intruder. That was not the best sign, as though they were bad fighters, they were no cowards. As soon as the Veteran saw the Solari he realized why.

"Leona." His voice was cold, his body tensed. The head of the Solari had entered the Hollow and only knocked out one clansmen? That was more then unusual. She shouldn't even be here, no clan of the Mountain ever entered the caves. And even more important, Solari killed the creature of the mist on sight, they never left them alive. "What are you doing in the mountain? This is not your realm to wander." She nodded. "You are right, creature." Her voice didn't show the usual hate of the Solari towards his kind. "I did not go into the caves myself. I am following this man." She pointed to a dark-skinned man in a swallow-tailed coat. Two gun-like weapons hung on his hips. "He hunts undead being and senses a great foe underneath. We came to release it of it's curse and give it eternal rest." The man grimaced at her words, but nodded nonetheless. "I am not here to hunt any of your kind, just how I told your subordinates." She pointed the tip of her sword to the unconscious body at the side of the entrance. "You can see that I did not kill it. Take this as my offer for a truce while I move through your realm." Her eyes met Travo'Azus. He wasn't able to tell if she looked honest or not, as the human faces were mostly unknown to the creatures of the mist, but he nodded. "I do not believe you, Leona of the Solari. But the Clanleader will decide in this matter. Blindfold them! They will be brought to Trabror'Azu!" He waved towards his team, who followed his command at once and covered Leonas and Lucians heads in cloth.

"Relieve them of their coverings." A deep voice spoke with heavy accent, the words almost unintelligibly. Lucians cloth was ripped from his head, the bright light he could see through it blinding him now. He groaned and closed his eyes. He turned his face down towards the ground and waited a few moments until he opened his eyes. His head rose slowly to search for the source of the deep voice. The humanoid sitting in front of him and Leona seemed as the best choice to him, but the creature didn't speak again. Instead it studied him and Leona like exhibits in a museum. The weapons of him and Leona laid to the feet of it, neatly arranged. Lucians eyes moved further, studying more of the room they were in. The humanoid was sitting on a throne-like chair made of wood Lucian had never seen before. The grain shimmered metallic while the wood itself was almost black. The floor it stood on was smooth granite with a few steps leading up to a small door of douglas fir. The walls were firmly joint stone bricks, the tiled roof rested on long squared timber. Creatures lined up at the walls, Lucian counted two on each side but assumed further outside of his field of view. His gaze returned to the sitting creature. It wore a fabric, unlike the other ones clad in leather. Pants covered its legs, while a vest covered the upper body. The muscle-packed arms were left free. "Leona, leader of the Solari, you invaded our sanctuary. As you may understand, this is something we cannot tolerate. You and your kin are the archenemies of our kind and we have to act according to it. Yet you request a truce and safe conduct for the hunter and yourself. I have to say that I am impressed as well as dumbfounded by that, though I know you couldn't have known what awaited you below the mountain. But the Azurite honor strength and a strong will; You are given one chance to fight for trespassing the Hollow safely. You endure a three-round-fight against me, without weapons and armor!" The creature rose to it's feet and waved its clawed hand towards the guards. "Move them to the arena and free Leona. Remove her armor. I will follow you."

Strong hands grabbed Leona and pulled her to her feet, while her head was covered again. Her hands were still bound behind her back, rendering her defenseless except for her magic. But she knew the futility of a breakout in this situation, so she merely followed the orders of her captures. She was guided through several tunnels and caverns, which where only distinguishable through the changing echo. After a few minutes the cloth was taken from her head, revealing a small locker room. "Strip your armor!" Leona turned around and had to lean back to see the head of her assigned guard. He had to stand at over two meters and was covered in fur. The burning gaze made her shiver, but she shook her head and regained her posture. She stepped backwards and nodded, grabbing the leather strips that held her armor to her body. She started with her arms, followed by the chest plate and the metal-plated skirt. After she had taken off the boots and greaves she straightened and arranged her hair. "I am ready." She had only her tunic left, that covered her upper body and two thirds of her thighs. Her guard nodded and turned around. "You armor will remain untouched until the fight is over." His voice told Leona that he left something untold, but she knew it anyway. Either she returned to collect her items or she was dead. It didn't concern her too much, she had faith in herself and the deity inside her. Her guard let her through a short tunnel and into a room with gates on both entrances. He closed the gate behind her and pointed towards the other one. "The fight lies ahead." He vanished into the shadows of the tunnel while the second gate opened slowly. The Solari took the opportunity to meditate. She concentrated on the inhuman facet of herself and drew strength from it. Unlike Pantheon, the aspect of Targon inside her was a symbiont and lend her its strength. Her body felt stronger and the exhaustion was swept away by the surge of power. Her eyes gleamed in a faint golden light, which was covered by the light falling in from the now open gate. A roar of dozens of throats greeted her.

"Leona, the Radiant Dawn!", the voice of an announcer blasted through the arena and another roar ran through the spectators, clearly against her. Her gaze swept over the echelons that surrounded the oval-shaped pit that made up the arena. It was about twenty by fifteen meters in diameter, enclosed by stonewalls of about four meters in height. There had to be almost a hundred creatures watching her and obviously wishing her death. On the opposite side of the pit was a second opened gate and the Clanleader in front of it. "This is a fight to death! If the Radiant Dawn wins, she achieved safe transit through the Hollow!" The spectators screamed insults. "If Clanleader Trabror'Azu wins …" The announcer left a dramatic pause while the crowd already went wild. "He will lead a campaign against the Rakkor!" The ecstasy was indescribable. Leona smiled a fierce smiled and walked towards her opponent. He was busy firing up the crowd, spreading his arm and slowly spinning to watch everyone in the eyes. As he finished his turn he took on a serious look and met her in the middle of the pit. "You will die today." He took a low combat stance and awaited her attack. "Don't be too sure." Leonas voice was filled with an otherworldly undertone and she smiled again. Without any warning her leg shot towards him. But he hadn't become a Clanleader without any skill, but the strength of the kick pushed him back a few steps. He had no time to recover, as Leona leaped after him and her fists came in a flurry. Leonas mind went blank, the reflexes sharpened in thousands of hours of training took over her body. Kick, strike, another kick, a headbutt. The attacks came fast enough to push her enemy closer and closer to the wall, but he adjusted his retreat and lead her into a circular path. The crowd was sheering towards him and slowly his retreat came to an end. "You are strong, Solari. But you depend on your gear!" He deflected another blow from Leona and took the offensive. His strength was equal to that of Doctor Mundo, but he was far from being as bulked up as the Doctor, which surprised Leona quite a bit. The first few strikes caught her off-guard and commanded her to retreat to the middle of the pit. Just as she got a stable position he changed his attacks, swapping from strikes to low kicks. Her skills saved her from falling over, but she recognized him as a greater threat than she had expected. She paid closer attention to his foot-work and found s small windows for a counter. The toes of the opposing foot of his next kick dug slightly into the ground before he actually moved. She anticipated the next kick and met it with her own shin before jumping and kicking him in his face. He was able to catch a fraction of the force by throwing himself backwards but was still dizzy. Just as Leona went in for the final punch an ear-rippling horn rang through the arena.

"The first round is over! And our beloved Clanleader got beaten up quite badly! But as we know him, the second round will be more interesting, won't it?" The crowd sheered to the words of the announcer and Leona knit her brows. She took a few steps out of the middle and observed Trabror'Azu. He had to have something up his sleeve, but what could it be? He just wiped the sweat out of his face and straightened, no other creature entered the arena to bring him anything. His arms spread to the sides again, the crowd was frantic again. But as he took his combat stance she noticed the claws at the fingertips. So that was his secret weapon. "That seems … a bit unfair, doesn't it?", Leona asked with a raised voice, but only Trabror was able to hear it. "No weapons, Leona, only our bodies. Mine is just better suited for fighting than yours." A mischievous smile went of his face as he started to run towards Leona. The toll of a bell rang through the arena again, apparently there was a specific timing between rounds. Leona took a defensive stance and awaited the attack. Just before the creature reached her he jumped up, closing the distance of a few meters between them in the blink of an eye. Leona was forced into a roll to dodge the weight of his body. His landing was heavy, his claws dug into the sand. By the splashing of it he had to be about a hundred and fifty kilograms heavy, more than his sight suggested. He never came up properly but went into a roll towards her instead. His legs lashed out, bringing him up to his feet. He used the momentum to jump again, but Leona had already retreated further. "Don't run!", he roared and started to run. This time he went lower, his claws separated the sand as he closed the distance. Leona didn't move at all, but he simply continued without questioning her choice. As he threw himself forwards she took the chance and jumped herself. Her left foot found his forehead and used it as a stepping stone to propel her even higher. His face was forced into the sand by the sudden change of balance while Leona levitated seemingly weightless through the air. Her landing was light-footed and graceful, unlike his. His momentum carried him a few meters through the sand, the crowd moaning in awe. The Clanleader had never been humiliated like that. He slammed his fist into the sand to stand up again, but instead of seeing anger or hate Leona saw respect and joy in his eyes. He bowed his head slightly, before coming at her again. His fighting style resembled that of a bull, but Leona didn't trust these first few attacks, as he had proved to be versatile. She met his onslaught head-on and he jumped high up into the air again, but as Leona tried to dodge to the side her threw himself in an impossible angle around and caught her shoulder with his claws. Her tunic-strip ripped in half and her skin got cleaved, but it was just a flesh-wound. It would handicap her, but not to a point of instantly losing her the fight. As Trabror landed at her side, her foot shot up and caught him at his chin. The momentum of his fall as well as her strength snapped his head back and he crushed into the sand. Leona took a few steps back and observed his laying body. He still breathed, but she wasn't sure if she actually knocked him out. Before she was able to assure herself the gong rang again. She just now realized the silence that had fallen on the arena. Even the announcer seemed to be speechless.

The Solari straightened and walked towards her opponent, kneeling down besides him. She rolled him around and had to oppress to twitch back as she saw his opened eyes. "I honor your strength, Leona.", he said before coming to his feet again. He almost faltered, but was able to stand. "But you have not won this fight yet." He clearly was in no fighting condition anymore, but was just as clearly not ready to hand her the victory. Leona shook her head but accepted his decision. She closed her eyes and didn't move before the gong rang for the third round. She heard him running again, but his steps were uneven and heavy. The time he took to reach her was more than enough for her to channel Eclipse. Exactly when he jumped up again Leona released the power of Eclipse, the wave of sunlight hit him in mid-air. Trabror got knocked backwards, Leona slammed her hand forwards and another beam of sunlight emitted from it. As it reached Trabror Leona pulled herself to him, grabbing his head and slamming it with all her force into the ground. His body overturned itself before it came to a halt in the sand, Trabrors bleeding face facing the ceiling of the cavern. Leona kneeled down and tried to find his heartbeat, but his anatomy had to be quite different to that of humans, at least that was what Leona hoped for. She heard the gate opening and took a few steps away from her downed opponent. "I won!", she announced.

A few hours later Leona and Lucian stood in front of the throne-like chair and waited. Leona had been brought back to the locker room and had dressed herself in her armor again. Lucians and her weapons still laid in front of the chair. After what felt like an hour Trabror'Azu entered through the door behind the chair. He walked up in silence and sat down. After another few minutes he started to talk. "You knocked me out, but spared my life, even though it was a fight to death. Which would mean that neither of us won, the both of being alive was never the intention. But I see the unspoken. Our mortal enemy left me alive, so I will leave her alive as well. You may pass through the hollow, but captain Travo'Azu and his team will escort you. His orders will be followed immediately and without questions." His hand waved towards their weapons. "You may take these now, but they have to stay ensheathed at every time." Leonas and Lucians shackles were removed, but neither of them started to move. Travo'Azu could understand, they wouldn't trust the creatures of the mist as easily. The Clanleader understood as well and took Leonas shield. He examined it shortly before he stood up and approached her. "The Order of Azurite honors the battle, the arena is our holy ground. Every fight fought there is fought under the protection of the mist and is viewed as holy judgement. You should realize what it means to fight under the eyes of ones gods." He held the shield at the tip, upside down. She looked into his eyes and nodded reluctantly. Her arm slid into the leather strips and gripped the handle. Her face had a relieved expression. She then walked around Trabror'Azu and picked up her sword. It vanished into its sheath before Leona attached the shield to a mount on her back. She took Lucians weapons as well and handed them to him. He slid them into their holsters and turned towards the door, as silent as ever. The clansmen of team Tratton formed a guard of honour for him to pass through as he walked towards the exit. Leona nodded towards the captain and followed him, Travo'Azu close behind her.

"Where do you wish to go?", Travo'Azu asked after they left the hall of the Clanleader. The cave that the hall was located in was brightly lit by what seemed glowing stone and torches to Leona and she stood in awe for a few moments. The walls and ceiling were polished to a degree that it could be used as a mirror, which made it look enormous. Lucian stood in front of her, equally awestruck, but he hid it better. "This is … beautiful …", Leona whispered and turned to Travo'Azu. "Did your kin build this?", she asked with a slightly trembling voice. His chest swelled with pride as he nodded. "Yes! Our ancestors found only rough caverns down here, but as more and more creatures of the mist survived your attacks they started to improve their quarters. Over the course of hundreds of years the Hollow arose, the pride of all of us!" His eyes gleamed in pride and joy as he told the short story. "This is the talent of the Order of Obsidian, the most skilled stone cutters in existence. You will see more of their work as we progress. Which I will ask again now, where do you want to go?" Leona looked towards Lucian. "Where do you feel the undead?", she asked. "Below.", was the answer, short and precise. He didn't even turn around to face her. She shrugged her shoulders and waved her hand in a cast-away motion. "That is the best direction I can give you.", she said in an apologetic tone. "He does not speak much." Travo'Azu nodded, he had seen the grim warrior in Lucian the first time they met. Follow me then. Team Tratton! Square formation!" The nine clansmen took formation, four of them walking behind Lucian and Leona, two on each side and one in front. Travo'Azu walked between them. "Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The fight below

"You were right, Travo'Azu, your stone cutters are exceptionally skilled artists." They had walked for about an hours or so now and Leona was still amazed by the display of craftsmanship and, in certain caves, the display of wealth. Every tunnel was carved with reliefs along the sides with what Leona assumed were depictions of the history of The Hollow. The grounds were shimmery and looked extremely smooth, yet she never felt it to be slippery. Some ceilings were polished to a reflecting finish, like the cavern at the clanleader. Others looked just like a night sky, a deep black with silvery spots shimmering far above their heads. And the houses, if the creatures felt like building them instead of building caverns, showed impressive architectural skills, too. Delicate columns held large oriels or balconies, but the cubic yet somewhat twisted elements that dominated every building seemed to defy gravity. "Thank you, Leona. They dedicate their whole life to their art, just as we Azurites dedicate our lives to the art of combat." Leona nodded and enjoyed the sight in silence again. After another set of caves and tunnels the scape of their surroundings changed slowly, the smoothened stone was changed to raw rock again.

"We have reached the lowest border of The Hollow.", Travo'Azu informed Leona and Lucian and stopped his clansmen with a short order. "We may not follow you deeper, as our order from clanleader Trabror'Azu was. But i hope to great you again here. We will wait for ten days until we leave again. If you have not returned until then, every step you take into The Hollow will be considered aggressive trespassing again and we will act accordingly. So please, leader of the Solari, return before. I do not wish to fight you." He bowed and his clansmen followed his example. While Lucian did not respond to this demonstration of honor, Leona bowed to the creatures as well. She had started the day with these warriors as her mortal enemy, and she still would fight them at the surface, but for now she respected them as similarly dedicated and honorable warriors as herself. "I will hurry.", she said with a smile before she turned away and followed Lucian, who already headed down the next tunnel. "Wait for me!", she shouted and closed the gap. "Can you feel him close?", she asked, slightly startled by Lucians impatience. "Closer than before, yes. And i feel like he is mightier than we can imagine." His cold voice surprised Leona again and she shot him a worried glance. "Mightier than we imagine? Are you sure we should fight him alone, then?", she asked despite already knowing the answer. "Yes. I will fight him, if need be alone, and if i die in that battle, so be it." Exactly what Leona had expected.

"I will not follow you into certain death.", Leona answered. "I will fight alongside you, but if i feel we have no chance, i will leave. I have people to take care of, i am a leader of others.", she explained. "I am very aware of that, Leona, leader of the Solari order, and i do not condemn you for acting accordingly. You have every right to leave." He stopped and looked in her eyes. "If you wish, you may leave now. This is my personal quest and i prefer going alone." Leona laughed, short and hard. "I won't leave without at least trying, anything else would hurt my pride as a warrior." She waved her hand for him to move forward again. "Just lead me to the foul beast and we will see." Lucian nodded and took the guidance again. Even though the shine of Leonas armor didn't reach far in front of them, he never stopped to check their way. He followed his instincts blindly. After another few hours Leona laid her hand on his shoulder. "Let's rest for a bit and eat something. You don't want to be weary while finding this beast." Lucian nodded, but insisted to take the first watch. Leona didn't want to start an argument, so she accepted his offer and sat down, resting her back on the wall. "Wake me in three hours, or whatever feels like it.", she said and closed her eyes.

Lucian watched Leona falling asleep and sat down beside her. He understood her motivation to follow him, but he still was uncomfortable having company around on his quest. Especially female company. After Thresh killed his wife he vowed to purge the undead, and in his mind that was a lonely road. He never wanted anyone else by his side except for his wife. It almost felt like he betrayed here, even though he knew she never wanted him to go down the path he went. She had always admired his kindness and care for others. But that side of Lucian was gone almost completely and only determination to purge the undead was left in his mind. After especially vile foes, he could bring his former self up out of the depth of his soul, and he could enjoy the beauty of life, but those times were rare and short. It took him less than a week to go on the hunt again. Now, in the bowels of Mount Targon, the darkness of the tunnels darkened his mind even further. If it wasn't for Leona and her light, he would search for the monster until he would fade from exhaustion. The logically thinking part of his brain was glad that she was around, but his darker determination wanted to leave without her. He was caught in this conflict for hours until his once honorable side finally won. He could not leave someone who he had allowed to follow him. He woke Leona up and closed his eyes afterwards, hoping to sleep deep enough to escape his troubled mind.

Leonas sleep was just enough to restore her, but as a trained warrior she didn't allow herself to sleep like she was in the Solari temple. As soon as Lucian touched her shoulder, all senses were working like she never slept. She nodded to him, but his eyes were already closed. She thought it was odd for him to go to sleep this readily after his seemingly unending stamina, yet she didn't ask him what bothered him. She feared what laid burrowed in his mind. Sorrow shrouded her face as she looked at him before she turned away and stood her guard. Her breath seemed unusually loud and every once in a while the distant sound of rolling gravel echoed through the tunnels. The whole atmosphere made her skin crawl. She stroke her shield and looked at its dime glow, the familiar sight and feeling gave her comfort in this dark time. The next hour passed and Leonas mind was caught in dark thoughts. The caverns and tunnels inside of Mount Targon were no place to be for any Rakkor. Even her feeling of time slipped and she woke Lucian, hours having passed in her mind.

"Let's get this over with.", Leona said after Lucian stood up beside her. "I have a really bad feeling about this place and i wouldn't want to stay any longer than necessary down here." Lucian nodded, but didn't respond in any other way. Instead he took the lead and walked through the maze of tunnels like it was his home. He never hesitated at crossways while Leona got more and more lost. "Do you have any plan of this maze, Lucian? Or can you remember every corner you took?", she asked Lucian. Even she herself noticed the slight bit of fear that slipped into her voice. "I can, yes. I have been in enough mazes to know any system and to remember every corner i take. Don't worry, we will not get lost. If we die down here, we die in combat." Lucian didn't turn around, but Leona didn't expect it from him. She had the feeling that he got even colder than before, maybe he got carried away by his bloodlust. She only made sure to stay directly behind him.

"He is close.", Lucian said after about half an hour. He took his dual pistols out of their holsters and held them in front of himself. Leona nooded and unsheathed her sword and took the shield off her back. The glow of her weapons and armor lit up slightly, showing her will to take the fight. Lucians weapons lit up too, in their cold white light. As they moved through the dimly lit tunnels Leona heard a gentle howling echoing through them. It had the tone of tormented souls in it. "It sounds like Thresh is down here...", she said to Lucian, who had come to the same conclusion. "Yes, it has the sound of my mortal enemy. But it feels ... different. His vicious mind lacks in the howling, those souls are tortured by someone less experienced. Yet it feels almost as strong as he is..." He shook his head. "It is not him, but it has to be purged just as he does." With these words he glanced around the corner and waved Leona to follow him. He sneaked to a boulder in front of the entrance and took cover. Leona followed him and looked at the being that moved in the middle of the small cavern. It looked like a lizard, a giant one at that. About four meters in length and two meters high, with a small pool of sickly green glowing liquid in front of its head. Just as Leona reached the boulder its tongue slipped into the liquid and pulled something out. Leona wasn't able to properly see what it was, but it could very well been a souls. "What is that?", she whispered to Lucian, who watched the lizard carefully. "I'm not sure, but it looks like something from either the Shurima Desert or the Kumungu Jungle. Be careful." Leona rolled her eyes and nodded. "Of course."

Lucian moved around the boulder and to a pillar closer to the beast. Leona sneaked to the other side of the cavern. The lizard seemed oblivious to its surroundings. While Leona moved to its backside she could see the souls, that the tongue pulled out of the puddle. They were definitely human, and every soul that got teared out of the puddle looked like it screamed in terror. The shape of the souls went from semi-visible and somewhat consistent to a mist-state, after the jaws of the beast closed around their head with a dry snap. The mist went back into the puddle and Leona assumed that the souls formed in there again. The thought of a afterlive of constant dying seemed terrifying to her, too. She could understand the howling of those damned souls. She reached the backside of the lizard, but the short but very broad tail with fins seemed extremely strong. She could see the muscles working under the scales with every light swing the beast made while eating the souls. If she could cut through it in one swing that wouldn't be a problem, but she would have to put all her force into the strike. she changed her position a few steps to the side again and looked at Lucian. He nodded to the head of the creature, indicating his target. She nodded in recognition and charged her sword. The Zenith Blade usually extended its magic, but she could compress it to generate a stronger cut, too. The light grew stronger and just as Lucian dashed around the pillar and opened fire with the Culling. Leonas blade flashed in the air and hit the tail, but just as she hit the the scales all energy was released and the explosion catapulted her backwards into the wall. The Culling hit the lizard straight into its head, covering the snout in blinding white light. Instead of pulverizing the head the light was reflected and shot uncontrollable through the cavern. Lucian realized his mistake, but one of the ricochets had already hit Leona. Luckily, it was only her skirt that had a hole in it now.

The warrior got up again and steadied her shield. "What happened, Lucian?", she scream and ran towards the lizard again. But without the surprise effect, the beast wiped her aways with its tail. The shield got slammed into her side and Leona flew through the cavern again. She hit the ground and rolled around, while Lucian shot the beast with his Piercing Light. This attack did not get reflected, but he couldn't see any mark on the scales of the beast either. He jumped aways from the jaws of it after it had jumped surprisingly fast to his location, skipping almost 10 meters in the blink of an eye. He fired blindly to the ground in front of it to win some time, but it didn't seem to care too much. It rushed straight into his shots, sending them back to him. He had to jump again and barely avoided the long claws of its front feet. They were as long as his forearm and could probably cut him in half. But Leona cam to his help to relieve some pressure. She channeled her Eclipse and as the tail of the beast came flying towards her she channeled her Shield of Daybreak, too. With both her abilities in full force she was able to withstand the swinging tail and there even seemed to be a reaction on the lizard. The stun-effect of her shield spread over its body, highly visible as a orange wave on the eerie green scales. But the further the wave spread, the more it lost its glow and eventually disappeared altogether. But the lizard seemed to be at least dumbfounded of tis. It slowly turned its head and waved its tail slowly and carefully around, as if to check it. But neither Leona nor Lucian wanted it to recover. Lucian started a hail of Piercing Lights, while Leona tried to reach its belly and cut into it.

While Lucian did no damage at all, Leonas strike cut through the softer scales. The beast reacted instantaneous and kicked Leona away with its front leg. The claws shrieked over her armor and ripped away parts of her breastplate and the pauldron of her right shoulder. She rolled over the floor and came up again, just to face a wide-open jaw. Only her thousand times trained reactions saved her life. She raised her shield just in the second that the jaws closed and blocked them with it. The long fangs of the lizard still hit her armor, but it was still intact on the left side and handled the already eased pressure without breaking. "Lucian, do something!", she screamed as the jaws tightened their grip further and further. Her shield already gave of sounds of bending metal and her armor got caved in slowly. She could already feel the flesh of her breast being pushed uncomfortably as Lucian opened fire again. His culling hit its exposed side and with some lucky shots its belly too, but most of it was reflected away again. But somehow it was enough to catch the attention of the beast. It rocked its head to the side and send Leona flying for the fourth time. She skittered over the rocky ground,causing the exposed flesh of her shoulder and arm to be ripped open. She shook her head to get rid of the dizziness and looked over to Lucian. He was still hailing the beast in the Culling, while it slowly crept towards him. Now and then it gave away a wailing noise and winced, but it took Leona several bullets until she saw the reason for it. The bullets never penetrated the beast, but some of the ricochets hit the puddly of souls and evaporated it more and more with every hit. "Shoot the puddle!", Leona shouted and Lucian, while firing, looked towards it. Just in that moment a bullet hit the souls and green smoke rose from the puddle. Lucian recognized the smoke instantly as purified souls and only a fraction of a second later the Culling was firing directly into the liquid. The reaction was astonishing.

The hail of bullets evaporated the souls in mere seconds. With every hit and every soul being freed, the beast wailed louder and spasms rocked its body. Its tail slammed against the wall, leaving deep cracks running through the rock. The claws dug deep trails into the ground and the jaws were opened. Just as Lucian shot his last bullet the lizard collapsed. Leona used her sword as a crutch and heaved herself up on her feet, while Lucian watched the fallen undead and aimed his pistols at it. "Has it perished?", asked Leona and walked slowly towards Lucian. She started to feel all the pain the adrenalin had suppressed seconds before and wanted to hear only a simple yes, but Lucian didn't give her this pleasure. "It is merely weakened. But i will make sure that it won't stand up again. You may leave now, you are severely injured.", he said after giving her a short glance. She bared her teeth and stopped at his side. "This is nothing, i've had worse. I will only leave after our foe is defeated." Lucian noded and slowly walked towards the beasts head. "This will not take long." Leona didn't know where he took the confidence from, but she didn't care too much. She wanted to believe in his words and so she did. Lucian stopped at the head and put his weapons directly onto the skull. The scales looked far duller than before and the eerie green had turned into a moss-like dark green. "Its magic is gone.", he said and pulled the trigger.

His words though, spoke so close to its head, had woken the beast up again. Just as he pulled the trigger its head shot forwards and the jaws snapped onto his left leg, crushing bone and flesh. He screamed in pain and went down on his knee. He had lost the weapon pointed at the skull, but held the other firmly in his right hand. The pain kept him from moving though, but the beast wasn't able to move either. It looked up at him from its sliced green pupils, hat and anger speaking in them, but a hint of helplessness, too.

Leona was a bit slow to react, as her wound kept her from moving fast, but she was able to raise her arm and throw out her Zenith Blade to the creature. The pull of it almost ripped her arm of and she cried in pain but never lost the grip of her sword. Just as she reached the head of the creature she slammed her Shield of Daybreak against its jaw again. The magic of it was send over the lying body again, but this time it effected the beast. The jaws lost their power and gave Lucians leg free, but he only fell to the side. The wave had naturally reached his body and stunned him too. His glowing weapon slipped out of his hand and hit the ground with a crackling sound. Leonas gaze fell onto it and she reached out for it in pure reflex. The crackling grew stronger when she touched it and her hand felt numb, but she was able to lift the weapon up. Still kneeling she fired several shots at the beasts head and finally it worked. white-golden darts of light pierced through the scales and burned the head until it was only a pile of smoldering undead flesh. Leona left out a sigh and dropped the weapon and the shield before she fell unconscious to the ground.

"Leona, wake up!" Lucians voice brought her back from the darkness. Leona moaned and opened her eyes slowly, seeing the dimly lit ceiling of the cavern. "Ah, finally you are up again!" She turned her head to the side and looked to Lucian, who close to her, his back supported by the wall. "You have been unconscious for about three hours.", he said when he saw her confused look. "After you shot the beast you just feel and i couldn't move for a few minutes, thanks to your stun. And when i was finally able to move again i couldn't wake you up. So i waited." Leona slowly sat up and looked at her destroyed armor. The left side of her breastplate and the pauldron were dented and pressed against her, but she didn't feel any injury. The right side was worse, her breast was now completely bare and cut from almost the middle up to her shoulder. Her upper arm was similarly injured and it felt like her left leg was broken, too. The armored skirt was ripped, too, the hole Lucian shot in earlier had opened and exposed most of her left leg. Overall, she was in a terrible constitution. After she checked herself she watched Lucians, who had been less injured than she did, if she ignored his left leg. It looked completely smashed and she wasn't sure if he could ever walk again. "It's fine.", he said as if he read her mind. "But we should leave now or none of us will survive this." He lifted himself up, leaning on the wall to not fall over. She could see the ripped cloth that he tied tight around his left to stop the blood-flow and nodded. Her own wound weren't bleeding anymore but were extremely contaminated and she didn't want to die to an infection. She nodded and used her sword as a crutch again and together they slowly started the ascend up to the Hollow again.

"Travo'Azu, there's light in the tunnels!" One of the clansmen of his team alerted the veteran. He woke up as fast as any battle-trained veteran and left his tent only seconds later. "Ready your weapons! All spears to the entrance! Only lower any weapon when you are sure it is no enemy!", he shouted and his men formed a circle around the entrance to the lower tunnels.


	4. Chapter 4

Hellor readers, sorry for my long absence. My inspiration somehow jumped out the window. But here we go again, new year and more content. Have fun!

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 **The creatures of the Mist**

Leona could barely walk anymore, but her iron will kept her going. Lucian beside her wasn't looking any better, but they slowly made their way through the maze below The Hollow. She had no clue about the passed time, but it felt like they had walked days, maybe weeks in the darkness. The glow of her armor was just a gleam, only a fraction of her usual powers. As they turned around a corner she finally saw light in the tunnel in front of them, mobilising the last of her strength to brighten the glow and head forward. She grabbed Lucian tighter, as he wasn't fully conscious anymore. "We are almost back!", she whispered. But the relief of the light and knowledge of rescue so close ate her last powers away. Only a few steps later she tumbled over a lose stone and couldn't hold herself and Lucian up. She crashed to the ground with a loud rumble while Lucian fell almost without a sound. The last thing Leona saw was the white of his eyes as he loft the last remaining bit of consciousness.

"Veteran! I heard armor!" The scout of Travo'Azu's team closed in and looked deeper into the tunnel. As they were stationed at the borders of The Hollow he wasn't needed as a guard at the entrance. But his senses were far superior to any of the others, hearing, smelling and seeing more then usual clansmen. "We should go." Travo'Azu looked at him and nodded. The guard was confirming his theory that Leona returned. "Clansmen! Three to the front, spears ready! Trall'Azu, you and me follow them. Three men behind us, three stay here!" It took seconds for his team to carry out his commands while Travo'Azu grabbed a torch. He took his position and grinned proudly. He trained them well. "Forward!" The clansmen moved into the tunnel, carefully observing their path and the fading light in front of them. "Faster." They increased their pace and reached Leona and Lucian soon after. "Two carry each one of them! Two secure the retreat. Trall'Azu, notify our medic. They will need emergency care." The scout nodded and ran back to their camp while the other clansmen prepared the two bodys for the transport.

Lucians whole body was feeling numb, but he could feel immense pain behind that numbness. His mind was fighting its way out of the deep darkness he laid in for far too long now, but it was a lost cause. Only a minute later he fell asleep again.

"Lucian, you are awake." A strange voice greeted Lucian when he opened his eyes and tried to move his head. His muscles acted slow, but he managed to turn his head towards the location of the voice. "Where am I?" The words came out slurred and almost unintelligible but somehow the thing infront of him understood them. "You are at the quarters of team Tratton, recovering from grave wounds." The voice had a rough underton to it, almost like a feral being. Somewhat like Warwick. He focused on the thing standing next to his bed checking vials. The creature was small, his head could barely reach Lucians chest if he was standing. It had reddish fur and an animal-like head. Some predator, maybe a fox or a wolf, Lucian couldn't see it clear enough. His body was far from being controlled by himself. He groaned and tried to move his arms, but this was futile as well. "Wait, drink this!" The creature put a vial against his lips and smiled reassuring somehow. "This will give you some strength back, but you still have to heal a lot." The liquid in the vials had a deep purple colour the reminded Lucian of flowers from the Kumungu jungle. His mind was too slow to process this information before his body swallowed the liquid. I tasted quite well, but he couldn't properly define the taste. "It will take a minute to unfold its effect.", the creature said before opening the door to the room and calling for Travo'Azu. When the commander stepped into the room Lucian was sitting with his back against the wall. "I'm glad you are finally awake, Lucian." The veteran nodded to Lucian and pulled a chair closer to the bed. "You have been in a coma for almost two weeks now." Lucian narrowed his eyebrows and looked into Travo'Azus eyes. "Two weeks? That is way too long! I should have been gone at least a week ago!" He stopped and tried to remember what happened. He could barely remember which monster he fought with Leona, but he surely didn't know how he ended up in this room. He couldn't even remember that he left the cave of the monster. "I cannot remember much. But Leona was injured as well. Is she alive?" "She is. And she woke up a few days ago. She is already on her feet again, most likely in one of the fighting pits to train. It took her just a day to get up and search for anyone to spar with. You can only admire her strength. We all can understand how she became the leader of the Solari." Lucian nodded and looked to the doctor. "How long will it take me to get out of this bed?", he asked. "My guess are a few days. No longer then four, though. You are of acceptional physique. Even our veterans could learn a thing from you." He grinned towards Travo'Azu and laughed. The veteran slapped him on the shoulder and stood up again. "Very well, i will inform Leona. She surely wants to visit you. See you later." Lucian waved as much as he could as the veteran left. "I think i should sleep again.", he informed the docotr and laid back again.

Leona was in the middle of a fight with the towering Tragot'Azu when Travo'Azu entered the fighting pit. "Veteran!" The clansmen dropped to his knee while Leona slammed her shield into the sand and used it as a rest. "Good evening, Travo'Azu.", she greeted him and smiled. During her time in The Hollow she started to like her archenemies, a process she followed with worries and a strange feeling in her guts. "What leads you down to the fighting pits? Have you finally decided to give me the honor of a fight?" The veteran laughed and shook his head in denial. "You know i am not allowed to spar with you, Leona. I am still surprised that Trabror'Azu allowed you to spar with the clansmen. The monster left quite the impression on all of us! I came down here to tell you that Lucian has awoken. You should visit him tomorrow. When Trarrst'Azu allows it, of course." Leona remembered the medic of the team, a very concerned creature. But he was a good doctor and took his job seriously. "I will ask him later. But i am still not back at my best, so i would like to keep training. If you would be so kind ..." She waved her sword in a gesture of him leaving and took up her shield. "Of course! Who would resist orders from the Radiant Dawn!" He shook his head and stepped out of the pit. The ring of steel hitting steel followed only moments later.

"Good morning, Lucian. How are you feeling?" Leona sat down on the same stool Travo'Azu used yesterday and watched Lucian. He seemed a lot better already, but it was obvious he hadn't recovered fully yet. "I feel like i got hit by ten bulls, but it is getting better. The doctor knows what he is doing. But tell me, why are we still here? We were only granted trespassing, not a prolonged visit or even medical care!" Leona nodded and folded her hands in her lap.

"There is an easy explanation. Travo'Azu found us half dead in the tunnels and brought us back into The Hollow. After some discussion some clansmen were send down into the cavern to search for our enemy. Our blood led them right to the corpse of that beast. They brought it up here and showed it to their clanleader, the one we already met. He was so impressed by our victory that he granted us an indefinite stay here. He even allowed me to train with the clansmen. We earned respect in their society. But we are now allowed to move outside the quarters and training area of this clan. Other are likely to mistrust us and will try to get us either killed or out of The Hollow again. But the honor of this clan provides us with security for now. As long as noone more powerful wants us. Travo'Azu mentioned something like that, but he didn't answer my questions." She shrugged and smiled. "I think something will happen in the next days, when you have recovered. But i can't get anyone to talk to me!" "Because nobody knew what was going to happen", Travo'Azu said behind her. He had just entered the room and overheared Leonas last sentence. "But it seems like the higher-ups made their decision. We have been ordered to bring you to the Diamonds as soon as Lucian left this bed. You better get up soon, they dislike waiting." He looked sad, but didn't explain anything else. "Tell us when you are ready. We cannot protect you against the Diamonds." He left Leona and Lucian with the same questions they had before, but now they at least knew that something was happening for sure. "Get better soon, Lucian!" Leona smiled and got up. "I trust that we will survive those 'Diamonds', too. I didn't survive that thing to get killed by creatures of the Mist!" She waved and left.

Travo'Azu and his team surrounded Lucian and Leona again. Lucian left the bed two days after they last met and was walking just like before the fight. He seemed almost as resilient as Leona was. But Travo'azu feared that it wouldn't help them. The Order of Diamond was the highest Order in The Hollow, feared and honored to equal parts. They were the ultimate force of the creatures of the Mist, sorceres and enchanters of the highest skill. The legends around them were freightening and unbelievable. They were said to kill with a thought, fly and teleport and create artifacts of otherwordly might. He had never been to their caves before. He knew only two of his clan that went there. Their clanleader Trabror'Azu who had his initiation there and another veteran who earned tremendous honor. And now he led one of their deadliest enemies into the heart of the Order. He couldn't make out how he felt. Fear for his life, Leona and Lucians life and the lives of the Diamonds fought in his heart.

All of those fears were forgotten once he entered the realm of the Diamonds. The entrance opened by itself and a floating bridge formed out of cristal let them to a floating castle forged of gold and silver in the middle of an abyss. He had heared the tales, but seeing this display of power and wealth was astonishing. The small procession walked slowly and in awe. It took them a few minutes to reach the gates of the castle. Solid metal double winged doors opened silently for them. They had to be more than double the size of Travo'Azu, measuring above four meters. The arch was just as wide and the doors had to be the width of another half meter. No chain was rustling and no scratching could be heared from the ground. It truly was magic. Two robed figures waited in the court behind the gate. "Welcome to the Levitating Castle of the Diamond Order, Leona the Radiant Dawn. And welcome to you, too, Lucian the Purifier." The taller figure stepped forward and opened her arms in a somewhat inviting gesture. "Today we will meet not as enemies but as associates. You have slaying a vicious beast at the borders of the realm. We will honor this duty and none of the Order of Diamonds will harm you." The second figure nodded and stepped forward as well. "Darron'Bavris wishes to see you. Follow us." He pointed towards a lavishly decorated door on the side of the court. "Veteran Travo'Azu, you and your men may wait in the court. This will not take long." The veteran nodded and signaled his men to stay at ease. "We will wait for you."

Leona and Lucian were led through luxurious corridors and rooms that would embarass any mortal king of the surface world. Everything oscillated magic energy and Leona could feel the pressure of all of it. "This place is a miracle.", she whispered and let her gaze consume every detail. "Everything you see has been carefully crafted by the Order of Obsidian and enchanted by us. This is the true might of The Hollow. We, the Order of Diamonds, are the leaders and protectors of all creatures of the Mist. That is why we honed our skills and keep developing new magical techniques." The taller figure, obviously female in voice, touched one of the gemstones on the wall, bringing a low shine from within it. "This is the work of generations of enchanters. And this is the chamber of Darron'Bavris, on of the elders of the enchanters. Please, step in." The door opened and Leona and Lucian entered the chamber.

The chamber was enormous. It had to be bigger than the entire castle had seemed from outside. The walls were covered in bookshelves out of dark and heavy wood filled with compendiums, dictionaries and works about supernatural topics in various languages. The entire ground floor was cramped with laboratory equipment and a few robed figures stood at tables working on various materials. The balustrad at the second and third floor showed tables for scholars to read at and in the middle of the room hung a giant round construct that Leona couldn't identify. Several rings moved around a central patch of darkness. It resembled a solar system, but none that Leona had ever seen.

"Greetings, Radiant Dawn." And elderly creature slowly walked towards her and Lucian. The being wore dark blue robes with glowing patterns that moved around seemingly without any paradigm. "I am very proud to welcome you here, leader of the Solari. It doesn't happen often that you can show an enemy your true nature and the things you are proud of." The leathery face smiled and Leona could vaguely see human features, but the grey skin and warped bone structure was too strange to ignore. It was slightly longer than a human skull, but broader as well. The cheekbones were very prominent and the eyes were large and iridescent in rainbow colors. "I am Darron'Bavris, elder of the enchanter-tree of the Order of Diamonds. I am a member of the council of our order and have been assigned to your case. You did us a favor. The beast had been slowly creeping closer to our borders and it corruption was only held at bay due to our barriers." He led the pair through the laboratory while he spoke to them. Leona could barely follow his words, her eyes were all over the different substances and items laying around and being examined. It was amazing. "We search the mountain with our senses, but the deeper we search the less we see. But we worry about the darkness below us. The abyss we are guarding with our fortress leads deeper then even our best seers can reach. But everyone can feel the danger looming below us." They reached another door, hidden behind a bookshelf. They entered the room, most likely the private quarters of their host. Everything was as luxurious as it had been in the corridors of the castle. The chais and the table were even floating, only a dimmed light was visible below the seat. They all sat down and Darron'Bavris continued. "Leona, the light of the Solari is deadly for all creatures of the Mist. We cannot let you roam freely through The Hollow, it is too dangerous for the people living here. But we cannot forget your help, either. That is why we will grant Trabror'Azus wish. You are allowed to visit the caverns of the clan Tragkten and train with their clansmen. The guards in the tunnels will guide you to them whenever you want to visit them. The same is offered to you, Lucian." He turned his head to the silent man at Leonas side. Lucian nodded but didn't show any sign of joy or resentment. "And we will allow you to hunt below The Hollow, whenever you wish. If you feel the presence of another foe, please contact us. We will try to gather information for your hunt. And we will contact you if we find any creature before you do."

Leona was very surprised. Her archenemies just offered a truce, and not a small one. She narrowed her eyebrows and tried to see through the alien face infront of her. "How can i trust that your guards won't guide me into a trap? As you have mentioned, we are mortal enemies and have been such since ages. You are offering an enemy free passage into your own territory." The enchanter laughed and nodded. "How can we trust you not to attack us while we are peacefully in our home? You showed restain and respect and we will show you the same. You don't have to visit us if you don't trust us." He smiled and pressed a few gemstones on the tabletop. "But we can talk about that later. Here you see a three-dimensional map of the caverns and tunnels below The Hollow." Purple lines and dots appeared above the table and rotaded slowly. "You fought here ..." A red dot appeared at the top of the maze. "As you can see, you only went down a quarter of what we have mapped. And here are points were we have encountered or sensed monsters." More red dots appeared throughout the maze, but Leona couldn't find any pattern on first glance. "We studied their behaviour for a long time and could find a few traces, but there is no proven theory about them. We assume there is a hive somewhere, or some sort of portal. Every now and then something finds it's way into the higher region of the mountain and either vanishes without any reason or has to be fought back. But the strengths of them varies extremly. Only the ways they take are roughly the same, if nothing changes the mountain itself. We are monitoring those ways and would like to hear the opinion of the both of you."

Lucian could see the pattern after a few seconds. While the old creature kept talking he checked every sighting and the underlaying pattern. "Can you show the strength and the time of every monster?", he asked and soon after the red dots altered their color. A small number showed the time of arrival and the color showed the strength. With his vast knowledge of the undead and their behaviour Lucian knew what happened below Mount Targon. "It has some random chances but most of this is carried out by plan. The shadow Isles work like this. They have some intiation rites and their portals lead to dark places like this. But that does mean that there is more down there, equally or more dangerous then the undead. They hunt down there to become stronger and rise in hierarchy." Not many knew much about the Isles, but the older the undead were, the more powerful they became. Even mere humans could become rulers due to this process. The undead hunted themselves, too. But to reach the next step always meant to pass a random portal. "If you can find the portal you can shut down the undead. But whatever lingers down there might come up, then." He shrugged and watched the elder. "I will not help you, not yet. I have other game to hunt before i can tackle a portal." The elder nodded and looked to Leona. "I assume you can't add anything?" Leona nodded and stood up. "He is the specialist for undead. I know more about the Mist." She bowed to him and looked to Lucian. "If you don't have more information we should return to Travo'Azu and his team. They will want to hear the news." Lucian nodded and looked to their host. "Please bring us back to the court, Elder Darron'Bavris."

"We are allowed to stay and train with the clansmen of clan Tragkten." Leona, Lucian and the group of clansmen had just left the cavern and were making their way through the tunnels back to clan Tragktens caverns. "And we may visit you anytime we want." Travo'Azu looked at Leona and what was a smile appeared on his face. "I am glad that the Diamonds allowed this. We got used to you, Leona. And sparring with you makes us feel challenged again. It can become stale down here, if you only train with the same people over and over again." He laughed and slapped Tragot'Azus back. "Especially our big guy. He is not allowed to fight me unless he wants to become a veteran himself. And the others are not quite as strong as he is." The humanoid reptile groaned and nodded. "You are strong enough to win against our so-called veteran here, i am sure of that.", he said and slapped Travo'Azus back. The force of the strikes catapulted the veteran a few steps forward but couldn't disequilibrate him. "Careful with your words, clansmen!" Travo'Azu laughed and let Leona walk next to him again. "I am sure we will find out some day. If you keep slaying monsters, maybe i will be allowed to spar with you some distant future day." They walked the rest of the way, accompanied by jokes from the clansmen. Leona could feel their comradeship and it dawned on her that she got accepted into this particular group of creatures of the Mist. Her enemies. But she felt at peace, a bit happy even. They were, in a sense, more human than her fellow Solari. It was only training at home, training and war. Maybe even the Radiant Dawn needed some rest from that life.

Another week passed and Leona and Lucian finally got ready to leave The Hollow again. This week would be forever burned into Leonas memory. The clansmen had shown here a lot about their lives and culture. It had turned out that the Order of Azurite was the second highest, after the Order of Diamonds. They were the warrior caste of the ones living inside Mount Targon and were proud of defending the borders. The Order of Malachite helped them in their duty, but the Malachites were no warriors themselves. They classified more like scouts or spies. They worked from the shadows and were the lowest order. The Order of Obsidian was the second order. Their duty was maintenance and development of the tunnels and caverns. Their craftsmenship couldn't be matched by anyone and they were the most beloved of the four orders. The Order of Diamonds were the silent rulers of the Hollow, rarely showing. They worked with messengers and speakers, but noone doubted their rule. The respect and fear of their magical powers was far to great. The residents who didn't show any particular strength in these fields worked in ordinary professions like farmer, teacher or tailor. Whatever was needed and interested them. Leona was glad she followed Lucian weeks ago. She learned valuable things and wouldn't want to live without them. She now knew the creatures of the Mist weren't vile monster and that she had to changed her people now. But she had no clue about how she could do that. Especially with Atreus, or Pantheon how he now called himself, back at the Rakkor. The Aspect of War would never approve of new ways. She talked with the clanleader about this, but he couldn't give her any helpful advice. "You are now tasked with the greatest task there is for any leader. Changing the ways of your people will never be easy. It is just as much of a fight as crossing blades with another warroir.", he said. And she had to agree to this statement.

"Leona, let's go!" Lucian took her out of the thoughts of the future and stepped into her room. "You need to return to your people. We have been gone for over a month, they must be in deep sorrow for you. And i need to hunt something. I am feeling more and more restless with every passing day." She nodded and lifted the bag with her damaged armor on her shoulder. The Azurites didn't have the knowledge to repair it, only the Solari knew how to embue it with sunlight. "I'm coming!" She followed him outside and they met with Travu'Azu and his men. "Farewell, Leona and Lucian.", he said and his clansmen formed a guard of honor. "We will await you back here. It was an honor to meet you." Leona bowed before them and paced through the clansmen, Lucian a step or so behind her. One of the Malachties let them to the surface and after weeks without seeing the sun Leona could finally step out of Mount Targon again. She was suprised how close they were to the village she came from. The Slari would have found the cae a long time ago if it had existed longer but when she turned around she could only see the rough surface characteristic for Mount Targon. "They sorcery is really strong. I can't sense it, but i know they are hiding the entrances from us." Lucian nodded and touched the surface. "It even feels real. They must have evolved this spell for ages. It is exeptional. But let's leave and return, for now." Leona looked up to the sun and then to the monastery of the Solari. "Let's return home."


	5. Chapter 5

Alright, the next chapter. This time, less fight and more talk for a change.

Thank you for the reviews. As usual, i am happy about any feedback you can give me.

And now, have a good read!

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Weathering the storm

Leona and Lucian walked for just over an hour before they were seen by the guards of the village. They couldn't hear their screams, but Leona was sure there was quite the rumour going on. Even though it wasn't necessarily uncommon for Solari to leave for longer periods of time, she was the leader and therefor rarely gone for such long times, except for her matches in the Institute. She looked down on herself and grinned. Her armor was scratched, the cloth she wore under it was ripped and dirty. She had tried to repair it, but only the smiths of the Solari could truly repair everything. Lucian looked similar, but the creatures of the Mist had patched his clothes up better than they could have done with hers. "Your tribe looks rather busy.", Lucian noted after she stopped walking for a few moments and just stood there, thinking. "I think they are preparing some kind of welcome. I'm just not sure, if it is the welcome you'd wish for." Leona raised an eyebrow and examined the activity in the village. Lucian was right, it looked like warriors were getting ready to move outside the gate. This was uncommon, returning Solari would usually be greated with citizens in a guard of honour. "Let's see what that commotion is all about."

The two warriors walked towards the village, where the defenders of the village took formation in front of the gate, five rows of ten men and woman each, spread out and blocking the entrance. Their faces were fierce and every weapon faced Leona. "What kind of welcome is this?", Leona shouted as soon as she was sure they would hear her. "The welcome for a traitor!", a voice from behind the gate answered. Leona knit her eyebrows and looked at the arch above the gate. A figure stood atop it, clad in brownish robes, the robes of the seers. Leona knew only one seer who would have the audacity to act against her, the leader of the Solari. "Trastor, quit your games!" She showed her anger, not as much through her voice but through the missing title he still held. "This is not the time to argue about any believes!"

"I am not playing any games. You went on a quest with that ... man, and ignored all your duties to the Rakkor. You left us. In a time of need, you did not show up! How can we still call you a protector, when the village was attacked and you did not protect us?" The seer shouted over the plane and Leona recoiled. The village hat been under attack? The walls looked unscratched to her, but they could have been fixed already. "What attack are you speaking of, Trastor? There is no sign of any attack here!", Leona answered and stepped closer. As soon as she and Lucian moved, the spears of the Rakkor dropped and they took a step towards Leona. "Step down, warriors! I am the leader of the Solari!", Leona shouted, getting angrier every minute.

"You will have to prove your faith and devotion to the Rakkor again, Leona! The most viscious attack came from inside the temple. One of your subordinates came forth and talked of Dianas doctrine, the doctrine of the Moonlight! And some listened, endangering all our believes! I could not let such foolishness happen and imprisoned them all, but the damage had been done and turmoil started to break out." The seer lifted his arm and pointed his index finger accusingly towards her. "This is all your fault, Leona! You let the Solari study forbidden teachings and acquire knowledge that was never meant to be known! For this, you will have to pay!"

While the seer spoke, Lucian slowly took some steps away from Leona. The heat her armor emitted was too much to bear, even for such a hardened man as himself. "Trastor!", Leona shouted with a otherworldly echo in her voice. "I am Leona, the Radiant Dawn, Leader of the Solari and celestial Aspect of the Sun! You are nothing beneath me, yet you dare to show such rudeness towards a higher being?" Her voice rose louder and louder, until the entire village was shaking under it's power. Her armor shone bright as the sun. Every warrior before her had to cower behind their shield, partly to shield their eyes and partly out of fear from this display of might. "You shall regret ever approaching me in such manner, misguided seer!" She raised her Zenith Blade to the sky, capturing the burning sun. It looked like she held pure light in her hand, but it was nothing compared to the hellfire that would come next. A column of burning plasma shot from the skies onto the arch of the gate. No scream could be heard through the roaring fire and no silhouette could be seen through the blazing light. Leona sustained the column for a few heartbeats before lowering her sword and cutting it off.

At this time, every single Rakkor in the village was kneeling in awe, awaiting more words from the mouth of the Aspect. Leona stepped forward, right through the rows of warriors that should have blocked her path. Shields shifted to open her a path until she stood in front of the gate. She called upon the power of the Aspect to strengthen her muscles and jumped four meters high in the air. She found Trastor on his knees, his face turned towards the sun. "Seer Trastor, you have recieved your punishment! You shall never see the sun again, always reminding you of your presumptuousness. I will spare your life and leave the decision about any further punishment to the council of the seers."

"People of the Rakkor, raise your heads! I am not a traitor to you, but a loyal fighter and friend. Together with Lucian i survived Mount Targon and honored my promised to the Elders. I accompanied him and witnessed his righteousness. Now i return and find the Rakkor in disarray! What happened to the proud people you are? Why do you follow commands like sheep? This is not how we live! Stand up, Rakkor, and find your wills again! We defy Mount Targon every day, we are the strongest of tribes! We do not just follow! We are leaders among leaders, we are fighters! We are the Rakkor of Mount Targon!" She slammed the broad side of her sword aganst her shield and the ring rolled over the Rakkor like a cleansing wave. They looked up the the shining figure atop the arch, bathed in sunlight, reminding them all of the old drawings inside the temple. They slowly rose to their feet and slammed their fist against their chests. "Rakkor!", they shouted, only a few at first but slowly everyone fell into the rythm. Satisfied with their reaction Leona stood there and waited, until everything calmed down. "Now go back to your duties, Rakkor! But remember my words and live up to your heritage!"

"That was impressive, Leona.", Lucian said later. They were sitting in the Solari's temple and drank some beer. It was something neither of them did frequently, but after such an adventure it seemed to be the proper drink. "Impressive, but was it wise? I have seen Rakkor turn away from me and i don't know how the others seers will judge my actions. I may as well have hurt the tribe by my impulsive action." Leona looked up the the ceiling, where the Aspect of Sun was painted in all its glory. "But it was necessary. I can't allow such challenge, not as vessel of the Aspect." Lucian nodded. "Your people will see the truth in your words, but that talk about Diana and her faith will have to be adressed in a less dramatic fashion. They may have been lead astray by that seer, but such a reaction is born out of true feelings. You need to convince them. Studying your archenemy is too dangerous to just do it." Leona sighed and nodded. "I will, tomorrow. Let's drink to our lives, for now." She raised her horn and emptied it in one go.

All she could feel was horrible pain in her head. She slowly sat up and massaged her temples. One of her reasons not to drink beer was the horrible hangover she got from it. Leona slowly rose from her bed and walked to the waterbowl in front of her mirror. She splashed some of the cold water into her face and looked into the mirror. She looked exhausted and lost weight, as well. Her cheekbones looked sharper than before and her hair was messy. It lost most of then glimmer it usually had. After she inspected her face she looked down to her body. Itwas leaner, the slight bit of fat she had was almost completly gone. Her muscles were more defined than ever before, but she wasn't sure about how to feel about these changes. She cherished them for the memories they gave her, yet it gave her too much of the battle-worn look of Pantheon. She always considered herself as a more balanced individual than him and it hat reflected in her appearence. Leona shook her head and got dressed, then she headed to the dining hall of the temple. Only a few acolythes were walking around the corridors, but she expected most of them to be outside in the training areas. The sun was already high in the sky and that meant, that the morning was not much of a morning anymore. "Good morning, Leona." Lucian greated her as she entered the dining hall. She could only muster a growl and took some food from the buffet. With some bread and meat she returned to Lucians table and sat down across from him. "Morning.", she grumbled and took a mouthful of water. Lucian chuckled at her sight and took a big bite out of his meal. "You look quite troubled, is everything okay?", he asked, smiling. "Sod off!", she answered, holding her head in slight desperation. "I will never celebrate with beer again."

A few hours and a long bath later Leona felt fresher and ready to take on the aftermath of her actions. Her acolythes had held off the visitors, but she couldn't hide in the temple forever. "I will see the seers, first.", she said to Lana, the pricipal of the temple. "But i want to take the acolythes that studied Dianas doctrine. They have to be questioned about it and speak the truth." Lana nodded. "I will send for them. I will have your guard ready in a few minutes, please wait until then. The emotions are in turmoil and not every Rakkor was happy about your procedure." A short smile lifted the corners of Leonas mouth before she turned away. "And they do good with doubting me. They shall hear my arguments, not led themselves be blinded by feelings that pass. That is the way the Rakkor shall follow, not blindly following some leader." At least this was the path Leona wanted them to follow. And maybe, with this start, she could bring a truce between the Rakkor and the Creatures of the Mist.

"Leona, the Radiant Dawn, Aspect of the Sun!", the speaker announced before she entered the building. It was the High Hall of the seers. It measured three stories, had no windows and just one entrance. It persisted entirely out of sandstone, cut into blocks taller than men. The surface was rough from winds, but it was protected from damage by immense amounts of imbued magic. The interior was lit by a large hole in the ceiling that was ringed with mirrors to catch and reflect the sunrays. The seers sat in a circle around a large pit with a pedestal amidst it. Leona walked through a trench into the pit and up the stairs that entwined the pedestal. Atop the pedestal she faced towards the the High Seer Sekra. "High Seer Sekra, i am honored to meet you again after such a long time. Yet I am deeply troubled about the circumstances. I have come to give testemony of my decisions and those of my subordinates." The High Seer rose from his seat and nodded towards her. "As you are honored, so am I. I wished to meet you under more friendly circumstances, but fate is a fickle thing. Your actions and those of your subordinates have brought some trouble to our tribe, but so have seer Trastors. I have to apologize for his impudence." Leona nodded thankfully and the High Seer sat down again. "But everything was sparked by your decision to let your students learn about Dianas doctrine. Tell us why you seek knowledge that was forbidden!"

"My decision was led by the search for truth. Everything we know has been written down in the temple and handed from one generation to the next with different connotations. We dispute over the true meanings of the writings everyday, but noone has found the truth. By researching the Doctrine of the Moon i hoped to fill the holes in our teachings. Every acolyte was hand-picked by myself and the principal of the temple. Their faith can not be disputed and their knowledge of our teachings is vast. They knew the dangers and temptations they would have to endure and swore oath's to the sun. The principal and i checked their work regularly and made sure they would not fall for the doctrine. Every student is with me and ready to be questioned about any detail of their research." Leona stood proud inside the ring of seers. She was convinced, that she had taken the right path and would argue with anyone who dared to challenge her. "Very well, Leona. I trust you and your righteousness, but we will have to question every student to make sure, that your choices have been right." Leona nodded and walked out of the building. It took the seers all day and most of the night to interview all students. The last student left an hour before dawn and Leona was asked in again.

"We have thoroughly questioned your disciples and have reached the conclusion, that your decisions were right and just. We will not doubt your faith to the sun as former seer Trastor did. Yet there have to be consequences to the turmoil you brought the tribe. None of the students of the Moon's doctrine are allowed to talk about it and they shall visit the village only for festivities for the next year." An affirmative mumble went through the gathering. "We will not take any more actions, but the Rakkor will have to listen to your words, too. We will announce our decision tomorrow at noon and invite you to attend this. The Rakkor may hear the truth from your mouth and decide for themselves." Leona nodded and bowed down. "I accept your wise decision, seers, and thank you for your sense of proportion. I will attend the announcement and answer any question that may occur." The High Seer waved his hand, dismissing her. She bowed again and left the hall. She informed the acolytes about the conclusion. They looked unhappy, but they all exepted it without dispute. She had picked them well and they knew the consequences of their actions.

Leona used the free day she now had to rest. She spent most of the day either in her bed or in the hot springs beneath the temple. When noon approached the next day, she set out for the gathering in the village. Her acolytes stayed in the temple but Lucian had decided to come and watch. "I am known to be a righteous man, even in this remote area. If anyone wants my testimony, i should be close." Leona nodded, even though she doubted that the Rakkor would ask a stranger about this. It was somehting that usually stayed inside the tribe. The two arrived just as the Rakkor gathered in the village square in front of the seers High Hall. A broad, knee-high stage sourrounded the entrance and was used, if the seers had to adress the whole tribe. Leona took her place besides the entrance and looked over the heads of her people. It seemed like everyone was here, but she was sure some of Trastors followers would be absent. After a few minutes, five seers walked out of the building. They were lead by High Seer Sekra. She knew all of them and knew that they had the authority of age and wisdom. The Rakkor would listen to them.

The High Seer explained thouroughly what had happened and what the decision of the council of seers was. Noone interrupted him while he spoke, but the crowd murmured after he finished. "If any Rakkor wants to question Leona, the leader of the Solari order, about this incident, he shall speak now or forever hold his peace." Everyone went silent again and Leona searched for anyone who would step forward. One man made his way though the Rakkor and stopped in front of the stage. "This is dangerous! It brings the enemy into our heads! It is blasphemy and breaks the age-old rules of our trube! How can you, our eldest and wisest, approve such action?" He was obviously angry, but that made his words dangerous. They came from his true feelings. "I would never act against the rules of our tribe, but we found an old text from Patholora, one of the first leaders of the Solari order. She wrote how the studies of the Lunar Path revealed answers to questions of our believe. Most of her writings have been destroyed, as you all know, but we found a few pieces in a shrine on the mountain. We verified their origin extensively and there is no doubt to their authenticity. We discussed the contents in the council of the Solari and reached the conclusion, that such a precedent would enable us, to study the Lunar Path with select members of our order. It was never intended to be brought to the public, before we found any answer, for only the most dedicated could resist the temptations of the cold path." Leona adressed the crowd, everyone should hear the truth in her words. "Our actions are firmly rooted in our desire to please the warming sun and aspects of the gods that watch over us. We wanted to expand our knowledge about them and understand their ways as much as a human can comprehend the divine ways." The man in front of her shook his head. "It is forbidden knowledge and some old woman won't change that!" The crowd murmured again, some approving his words, but most were shocked by his disrespectful words about a Solari. "I call for a vote by the Rakkor!" He turned around and faced the crowd. "Our leaders cannot be trusted anymore! They have already been corrupted by the Lunar Path, can't you see it?!" He rose his voice even more, shouting now. "Don't be fooled by their words! Only the true seer Trastor saw the filth in their heart! He confronted them and what happened? He was eradicated by them to silence any resistance!" Only very few Rakkor nodded, most of them were getting angry at this audacious speaker. "Don't speak in such a foolish way!" High Seer Sekras voice thundered over the mand and woman in front of him. "How can you dare to doubt our devotion to the tribe and our faith, you, a mere peasent! We have studied our ancient ways and are your guides to a faithful life! Question us in such a vile way again and we will exile you to the desert! Adress us with due respect and we shall answer your question. Raise your voice again, we shall not tolerate it!" The deep voice was awe-inspiring and no Rakkor had ever challenged Sekra after he raise his voice. His authority was just undeniable. But this Rakkor would not listen. "They want to do it again, you see?", he cried and stepped towards the first row of spectators and grabbed a woman by her shoulders. "They will defile our tribe and bring us death and decay!" Before he could talk more the two man beside the woman grabbed him and pushed him away. "Shut up, you imbecile! You are overstepping your boundaries!", one man told him, but he was not affected. "I am overstepping boundaries? I am merely the voice of reason in this insanity!"

"Guards! Get him out of my sight!", Sekra bellowed. The guard, who had already stepped forwards, jumped down the edge of the stage and grabbed the screaming man at his arms and pulled him away. "You will regret this! The tribe will fall by your actions!" He screamed more, but it quickly turned into a tirade of insults. "We should dissolve this gathering now.", Sekra said. "I am sorry that it turned in such a way, but what had to be said was said. Everyone of you has to think about this. If you shoud think of any questions later, do not hesitate to visit us. Unlike this fool, you shall receive your deserved answers." He stood up and bowed towards the crowd before he vanished into the building, followed by his council. Leona bowed as well and left the stage quietly. The Rakkor were too wrought up to notice her so she slipped away and made her way up to the temple again. Lucian joined her on her way and nodded to her. "Most Rakkor are on your side, but a fraction of the very conservative will resent your for everything. But you chose your words well, your tribe will not doubt you." Leona felt a strang relieve, even though she couldn't imagine that an outsider like Lucian could read her people this well. "Thank you, Lucian. I hope you are right. If they resent me now, there will never be peace between us and the creatures of the Mist. But i have hope now, if we can weather this storm. The Rakkor may not be as stiff and buried in tradition as i thought."

Later that night, Lucian and Leona ate together with the acolytes. Leona had told them about the gathering and they confirmed what Lucian had guessed. They may not be allowed to go to the village, but the other way around was never mentioned. Some relatives had visited and talked about the incident. "I am glad that we took the right steps. And i am proud of you. Your faith is undeniable and the order is growing in strength, thanks to all of you." The acolytes cheered and Leona smiled. This felt like a family to her and the feeling of just having defended this family made her feel almost ecstatic. But may as well be the alcohol they had to celebrate.

"I'd like to talk to you later.", Lucian said quietly after the feast. Leona was a bit surprised, but nodded. She was lightheaded and happy, so she didn't give it much thought. Late in the night, after the acolytes had returned to their chambers, she walked on the galery around the temple's roof and found Lucian. "You wanted to talk with me?", she asked and leaned against the ballustrade. "Yes. I had some free time and thought about our battle against that undead below Mount Targon. I couldn't quite see what happened, but when you used my weapon, it had changed. Somehow, it was stronger and more ... cleansing." He took one gun out if its holster and inspected it. "It doesn't feel like it changed in my hands. If you are willing to try something tomorrow, i would like to experiment a bit. Maybe your sunlight syncs with the cold light of these guns." Leona nodded and looked at the gun, too. "I didn't realize that i changed it. But in such a heated moment, i guess i couldn't care less about the looks of the shots. I was just glad that we killed that thing." Lucian nodded. "Yes, i only remembered it later. It was something in the back of my head, that i couldn't point my finger at until recently. But i don't want too many people to know about this." He holstered his weapon and turned to Leona. "That is no problem, we have more than enough private trainingground. Meet me in the main hall tomorrow after lunch. But now i have to sleep, it was an exhausting day." She bowed slightly and left to her room. It was almost midnight and she could barely walk anymore. Lucian stayed outside a bit longer and watched the stars. It was the first time that his gun had reacted to any kind of magic and that was keeping him awake. The mystery of this was occupying his thoughts a great deal.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey readers, today i bring you a shorter chapter, kind of an end to the first "arc". I'll dive into the lore of Lucians weapons more in the next arc, introducing some more League champs. I hope you'll like it and as usual, please give me feedback. I'm sure there's a lot to improve.

But now, have a good read!

* * *

 **Finding peace**

"Good morning Lucian.", Leona greeted the gunslinger. He was sitting one of the tables in the dining hall and slowly ate the roasted meat and vegetables of his lunch. "Morning.", he replied, his head obviously not where his body was. "Lucian!", Leona said again, after she got her own lunch. "Yes?"; he asked and turned his head. "Oh, good morning Leona. I didn't see you coming in." Leona laughed and nodded. "Yes, I figured that. Are you still thinking about your weapons?" Now Lucian nodded. "I have to be honest, the question what happened is burning me from inside out." He shook his head and took another bite of his meat. "I have to know the answer. I never knew where these weapons came from, Senna told me, how she obtained them. I asked her once, but she said she had taken a vow to never reveal their origin to anyone except the original owner. Maybe we can find the answer to this question." Leona smiled and watched Lucian. "I will try to help you. Maybe using the gun consciously will make me more attentive this time."

Half an hour later they stood in a cavern beneath the temple. It was the ceremonial chamber, where acolytes could prove themselves to reach the next stage of their apprenticeship. The walls were imbued with strengthening magic and no accident had ever cracked them. "We can experiment with magic without fear in this room. The walls will soak up any excess energy and they cannot break." Leona placed a few dummies wide apart in the middle of the hall and walked next to Lucian. "You should fire first. We need a comparison of damage and other effects." He nodded and drew his guns. He carefully took aim to the last dummy on the right and fired one shot to its chest and one to its head. The second dummy took several shots all over its body and the third lost both legs to well-aimed shits. "Okay, i think we have a good baseline for the usual shots of your weapons. Now i will shoot." Lucian handed his guns over and watched her very carefully. Leona raised on of them and tried to fire it, but nothing happened. She looked at the gun, startled. "I didn't realize it had no trigger when we were in the cave.", she said and looked to Lucian. "Does it just fire by will?" He nodded. "You have to concentrate on it, be focused on the shot. I assume that your will to kill the undead triggered it the last time. You only thought about defeating the monster, the gun must have acknowledged that. You should be able to fire it anyway, though. You are a well-trained warrior with the required focus." Leona looked at the gun again and slowly raised it a second time. She focused solely on the dummy she wanted to shoot and a second later, a yellow-white shot hit it in the stomach. The yellow was barely visible, but Lucian noticed it instantly. "Again!", he said and Leona fired another shot. This one hit the dummy in the chest, but the yellow was slightly more visible. "Keep firing." Leona started to fire in a more or less constant stream, hitting four more dummies and the wall several times. The yellow tint became stronger and stronger with every shot, until it was no more cold white light, but a warm sun-like ray. The shots were longer and wider, they lacked the defined form of Lucians shots. After she had no dummies left to shoot, Leona lowered the smoking gun and inspected it. The tip was glowing in a dark orange, like the sun at dusk. "It feels natural to wield these:", she said, more to herself then to Lucian. "Lucian, i think we will have to visit our librarians. I start to feel like these are ancient rakkorian weapons." She handed Lucians his guns again, who inspected them closely as well. "They don't feel any different.", he said quietly and raised both weapons. Since Leona only shot one of them he could compare them now. A hail of shots burst out of them, but they were exactly the same again. "How does this work?", he asked and turned to Leona. "Let's see how the dummies compare now."

After they put the dummies side to side, there was an obvious distinction between those Lucian shot and those Leona shot. Lucians shot were burned in a small area and bits of them were ripped out. Leonas shots had more of and areal effect. She had burned a wider area of the surface and didn't penetrate as deep. It seemed like her shots were not so much deadly as more incapacitating. "This is very interesting. Now, you mentioned some librarians. I would like to talk to them. Maybe i can finally find some clues to what i can expect from these guns.". "Follow me. I hope Dara, the head archivist, will know where we could find information about your weapons. She knows the archives better than anyone else."

After they paused for a quick drink, Leona led Lucian further into the temple. The archives have been carved deep into the foothills of Mount Targon, simultaneously to protect them and to keep the teachings of the mountain close to their origin. The caverns were filled with shelves bending under the enormous weight of books, scrolls and codex'. It took them a few minutes and the help of the other librarians to find Dara deep in the oldest parts of the archive. Most writings were engraved in small stone plates or the bare walls. "Archivist Dara.", Leona whispered after they reached her. She gestured Lucian to be quiet as well, as Dara despised nothing more than noise in the archives. "Solari Leona." Dara turned around and bowed towards Leona. "Lucian." She nodded towards the man. "We have a question for you, Dara. Lucian has some ancient artifacts he uses as weapons and he found out, that they … work with my abilities. Could you have a look at them? Maybe you can tell us something about them." It took Dara a few moments to answer, her eyes gazing into another dimension. "Yes. Come back to me in an hour, I have to find something else first. These old parts of the library aren't as well sorted as the newer parts. I will wait for you in the reading compartment." With a short bow she turned back to the stone plates she was searching through before Leona and Lucian had disturbed her work. "We will be there.", Leona said and started walking towards the exit again. After they passed a few aisle Lucian stopped and looked at some of the plates. "I never knew the Solari had such vast writings. You never struck me as people who would write everything down. You were more … living, I guess. It is a high contrast to the combative living of the tribe." Leona smirked and took one of the plates. "The Rakkor are a very old tribe, and the Solari are just a bit younger. But you are right, the Rakkor as a tribe don't keep a lot of written past. Knowledge is transferred verbally and the culture lives in the combat. But the Solari, and to some extent the seers, keep the past alive. We are the scholars and magicians, the mystics and knowledgeable ones. We lead the tribe in its spiritual ways, but they don't quite know, how much science is incorporated in those ways. But not everything we teach has been learned through the studies of old. A big portion is still the verbal tradition. The tribe as a whole has latent magical abilities and through the old celebrations, these abilities can be awoken. You should visit the harvest festivals, you can feel the magic dancing on your skin." Leona smiled while she thought of the last festival. Those days are the happiest all year, everyone will be celebration and drinking. Every Rakkor waited the whole year for the solstice, where they would praise the sun for the harvest of the last year and pray for another good one in autumn. The whole village is covered in ornaments of bronze and iron, symbolizing the warmth of the sun and the iron in the Rakkors blood. And right at the solstice, everyone sings the rhymes of old until the ground shakes.

"Leona!" Lucian had to raise his voice to get Leona out of her beloved memories. "I'm sorry. But you really have to visit us at the solstice! You won't believe any of what I could tell you about it if you didn't see it with your own eyes. But let's hurry back. I want to visit the training ground before we meet Dara again. Even though it doesn't feel like I haven't done it in years, I do have to supervise our acolytes. You can come with me if you want." Lucian shrugged. "It's not like I had anything else to do." Leona laughed and lead him out of the archive. "I'm sure it would be fun to see you in hand to hand combat with one of us. Not that I doubt your physical prowess, but I don't see you beating our warriors." The hint of an challenge was visible in her eyes and Lucian nodded. "You'll see.", he answered and straightened himself.

"Euthos, come here please." Leona called one of the older acolytes. He wasn't the strongest by far, but as any Solari he was skilled far beyond any normal human being. "I asked Lucian here to be your sparring partner for one round. Would you give him the honor?" Euthos bowed deep and nodded with a grim smile. "I feel honoured to be asked to such a fight." Lucian nodded in response and inspected the training grounds. The main yard measured 100 by 300 feet and several smaller squares were laid around it. "You will fight in the Challengers Pit.", Leona said and lead them to a 30 by 30 feet big round pit. Around the railing were several rings of tribune for at least a hundred spectators. "No weapons are allowed, only hand to hand combat. Fair rules, no use of the sand or punches below the waist. No serious injuries either, just friendly sparring." After Leona had explained the rules she climbed a ladder at the side and took seat in the referees stand. Some acolytes, who had seen the trio walk in the Challengers Pit, were taking seats along the railing. "No cheering during the fight, please.", Leona exhorted them. "Fighters, take places ten feet across from each other. Ready. Set. Fight!"

Instead of running towards each other, Lucian and Euthos approached each other slow and carefully. Euthos had the wide brawler-stand of a strong, but slower fighter. Lucian on the other hand was on light feet, an agile and persevering fighter. After they circled each other for a while Lucian took the initiative and tried to land some quick blows to Euthos abdomen, but neither of them hit. Euthos either blocked them or just paced back to create just enough distance that he could feel the wind of Lucians quick fists. After this short outburst of energy, they circled again, waiting for another chance to go at each other. Lucian took the initiative again after he thought he found a weakness in Euthos defense. He deked a few strikes and suddenly let his left foot shot forward. But Euthos was too good of a fighter to be caught by Lucians feint. His right leg rose up and blocked the kick, while his right arm shot forward for a counter. Lucians reaction was a fraction of a second too slow, Euthos fist grazed his left shoulder. He quickly withdrew a few feet and shook his arm. It was nothing but a reminder to be more careful. He started prancing again and got serious. His strength was agility and speed, something he showed more and more during the next few exchanges. His fists and legs seemingly came from every direction, searching for holes in Euthos' defense. But every time he thought he found that opening, Euthos would move his arms just a hint different and the next blows were caught by his hands or muscular arms. It was frustrating, seeing the slower man defend himself so well. But where his defense was perfect, his offense lacked. Lucian arched and bowed through every punch and every kick of Euthos, not letting himself get hit again. The longer the two fought, the more spectators came. Seeing an outsider fight against any acolyte in training was a rare fight and seeing him equally skilled only added to the fascination. With the filling ranks came noise, too. Even though Leona had forbidden it earlier, with every passing minute the cheers for Euthos became louder. It looked like they had no effect on Lucian, but Euthos became more and more brave. His defense shrank and he tried to hit Lucian more and more. Finally he stopped trying to defend at all and went on an allout offense. What followed was becoming less and less the graceful fight it had been and more and more a taproom brawl. Heavy blows where answered with several fast hits until both warriors started bleeding. Their bodies ached and their movements slowed, but neither of them would admit defeat. "Enough!", Leona shouted. She knew that any further fighting could result in serious injuries, either by exhaustion or by an ill-aimed strike. "Lucian, you have proven to be a formidable fighter, with and without your weapons. Euthos, you fought honorable and I am glad you are in our order." Euthos bowed deep, first to Leona, then to Lucian. "It was an honor to spar with you, Lucian." Lucian nodded. "Likewise." He still had to catch his breath, his fighting style took a rather high toll on him.

"Solari Leona, Lucian. You are late." Leona nodded and apologized. "I asked Lucian to fight one of the acolytes, it got a bit out of hand." The whole fight had taken about half an hour, but Lucian had to take a pause and get something to eat and drink before he had been able to return to the archives. "We thank you for your patience. But to the topic at hand, we would like to show you the two weapons first." She gestured Lucian to place the relics on the table in the compartment. It was a small room lit by sunlight that was transferred by mirrors. The round table and a few chairs around it were the only furniture inside. Dara bowed over the two weapons and studied them closely. "These are very interesting pieces. On first sight I would guess they are from around here. The ornaments resemble very old carvings on Mount Targon and the stone they have been manufactured out of definitely comes from the higher peaks of the mountain. But I am not sure who actually could have crafted them. The carvings have never been identified nor have they been explored further. Let me get the scroll that talks about them." She left the room without another word, but Leona didn't stand up to follow her. "She will be faster if we don't deviate." Dara returned after a few minutes with and old scrolls she unreeled on the table. "Here it is: 'The carvings were geometrical in shape, often seen around entire Mount Targon. But they match no other known carving. Given the high place of discovery they presumably have been carved out a long time ago.' This sketch shows what the expedition had found." She placed one of the relics above the drawings and compared them. "Yes, this has to be the same kind of carving. But I can't tell you anything but the location of these ancient carvings." Leona nodded. "The second highest peak. Probably on the northern side, above the mist. I advise you not to go there, it might kill you." Lucian narrowed his brows and looked to Leona. She already had the glare of adventure in her eyes, but he wasn't sure this would be his adventure. "Those parts of the mountain are deadly for all but the ones grown by the mountain itself. No outsider will survive the ascend, let alone the mist. You cannot take Lucian there." The sheer graveness of Daras tone surprised even Leona, but she knew very well that Dara was right. "I would never take anyone to the heights of Mount Targon, Dara. I have been there, I know what lies up there. Only the ones imbued with celestial power or chosen by the mountain will survive. That is a journey for myself and no one else. Lucian, I think our ways will part once again. I have to return to my duties and if the sun so pleases, I might search for those ancient runes soon. But your destiny lies elsewhere, not with our tribe. But you will always be an honored quest to ours." She stood up. "Let's have one last feast tonight and celebrate our adventure again." Lucian nodded. "I thank you for your hospitality and kindness. It is about time for me to resume my voyage again." They left the library together, after they thanked Dara for her help.

This evening was filled with food and drink again, all Solari had been invited to celebrate the gunslinger. The feast dragged on deep into the night, but when Leona woke up the next day, Lucian had already been gone. "His mind must be stronger than mine.", she told Lana. "It took me almost half an hour to even get out of my bed today, and he left at sunrise." Lana smirked. "First: he drank a lot less than you did. Second: He is a man of determination and I think his duty has been disregarded for too long. He must have felt unrest in face of his quest." Leona nodded. "He must have. But enough of him, I think I have missed a lot around here." The next hours were filled with reports and decisions regarding every part of the Solari order. Leona had to tend to disputes between higher-ranking members, negotiations with other tribes and more. At the end of the first day back as head of the order she fell to bed more exhausted then after the month-long journey through the mountain. "Give me strength.", she whispered before falling asleep.

Two weeks later she enjoyed her first day in the village again. She had worked non-stop to catch up with all problems and finally accomplished it. Now she walked through the village in one of her less formal summer dresses. The sunflowers on her head and cloth smelled fantastic and she kept sniffing them while she strolled past the shops. She talked to some of the villagers and was happy to find out that the controversy of the past weeks was calming down at last. Everything had gone back to normal and even the Institute hadn't summoned her. She felt at peace for once.


End file.
